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labour | workers’ rights

First labor rights claim under the revised NAFTA filed by migrant worker women in the US — what does it mean in terms of the new labor rulebook in the region?
7-Apr-2021 Public Citizen
The complaint represents many organizations’ intentions to test if the revised NAFTA’s labor terms could be an effective tool to improve workers’ conditions.
FTA labour rights provisions useless without trade union action, says Korean unionist
29-Mar-2021 bilaterals.org
Interview with Ryu Mikyung who is the International Director at the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions.
Women file complaint over gender discrimination in US temporary work programs
26-Mar-2021 Fronteras
A group of Mexican migrant worker women have used the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to launch a complaint over discrimination in temporary labor programs.
China-EU comprehensive agreement on investment: Ineffective in protecting labour rights and acting on environmental justice
15-Mar-2021 Globalization Monitor
Without thinking about environmental action beyond emissions and enacting binding agreements on protecting workers’ rights, China and the EU fail at making meaningful change for both labour and environmental justice.
Two steps forward, one step back for Vietnam’s labor rights
22-Feb-2021 DW
Several EU statements still refer to EVFTA as helping to create "trade unions" in Vietnam, but WROs are different in many ways. They are only allowed to collectively bargain and organize strikes at the individual enterprise level, meaning they are restricted to individual companies.
CPTPP: More freedom for capitalists, more exploitation for workers
22-Feb-2021 Counter Fire
Behind the rhetoric of ‘liberalisation’, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is nothing more than vehicle for exploitation and global inequality.
China’s labour rights issues a threat to its trade deal with EU
16-Feb-2021 Hindustan Times
In the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment is expected to face intense resistance from some European lawmakers, while international unionists, who say the pact will do nothing to stop human rights abuses or protect labour rights in China, have vowed to ramp up pressure over the deal.
Could Biden make US-China trade better for workers?
15-Feb-2021 The Diplomat
If decoupling is not in the cards, the United States must find a way to ensure trade improves the lives of workers – on both sides of the Pacific.
China-backed RCEP trade deal unlikely to benefit developing members in short term, analysts say
12-Feb-2021 South China Morning Post
The Regional Cooperation Economic Partnership (RCEP) is unlikely to bring immediate significant benefits for its developing member countries in terms of flow of goods and services or major infrastructure investments, analysts and economists said.
How the trade deal Boris Johnson is pursuing threatens workers’ rights
2-Feb-2021 Left Foot Forward
The danger is that the UK Prime Minister is eager to get a deal, so he could accept whatever terms the CPTPP countries demand.
Biden to focus on trade enforcement after years of Trump tariffs
1-Feb-2021 Bloomberg
President Joe Biden’s administration is setting up its trade policy to prioritize enforcement of existing commitments by the US’s partners over negotiating more deals to open new export markets.
British and Turkish unions want to suspend fledgling trade deal over labor concerns
29-Jan-2021 Politico
UK government urged to use deal to demand Turkey ‘recognizes and respects’ labor standards.
EU-China investment deal lacks teeth on forced labor but could still be derailed
20-Jan-2021 Taiwan News
Potential gains not worth cost of overlooking ’blatant human rights violations’ in Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Tibet, and against Taiwan’: French senator
EU will not ask China to sign forced labor ban before ratifying investment deal, says French minister
13-Jan-2021 Politico
France will insist on a ‘calendar’ for Beijing’s reforms instead.
Corporate-led trade deals are coming to Britain – and unions have to be ready
6-Jan-2021 Left Foot Forward
The Tories are trying to shut workers out of Britain’s post-Brexit trade deals, writes Unite’s Tony Burke.
China and EU leaders strike investment deal, but political hurdles await
4-Jan-2021 New York Times
The agreement, which would roll back restrictions on investment, faces some opposition in Europe and objections from the Biden camp.
Xinjiang forced labour concerns threaten to derail China’s investment deal with EU
21-Dec-2020 South China Morning Post
Officials say European Parliament could refuse to endorse deal over Beijing’s failure to commit to International Labour Organisation standards
RCEP has limited trade gains and ignores labour and human rights
30-Nov-2020 Australian Institute of International Affairs
Australia’s recent signature of the RCEP has attracted world attention for its significance in consolidating Asia-Pacific geopolitical relations. But in celebrating this agreement, we seem to have forgotten its unfinished business regarding labour and human rights.
Union movements: Potential UK-Norway trade deal must not be a race to the bottom
24-Nov-2020 Left Foot Forward
Trade unions in UK and Norway have set out clear principles for a future trade agreement.
What is RCEP and why are Trade Unions in the Asia-Pacific Region concerned about It?
18-Nov-2020 News Click
Even as the new agreement between ASEAN nations and its free trade partners establishes the largest trading bloc in the world, it is vehemently being opposed by labor unions, trade justice groups and women’s movements