labour | workers' rights


Calls to scrap ASEAN trade deal over Burma
The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union says the Federal Government should cease Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) free trade negotiations immediately, in line with Burma sanctions.
Labor groups differ on Peru free trade deal
A coalition of US labor groups that split from the AFL-CIO several years ago is urging Congress to oppose the Peru free trade agreement while AFL-CIO will not.
Peru free trade agreement set to move in House after delays
The long-delayed free trade agreement between the US and Peru is heading for approval in US Congress next month. AFL-CIO, the country's largest labor federation, testified this week that it won't support the agreement, but won't work to defeat it, either.
UNI solidarity mission urges Costa Rica to reject the proposed Free Trade Agreement
UNI Telecom Americas President told the Minister of Labour and Deputies from the Costa Rica National Assembly that the country should look to lessons from other free trade agreements, including from his country Mexico, where poverty had not decreased and the minimum wage was in effect lower than before the 43 trade agreements signed by Mexico.
Evaluation of the impact of NAFTA on manufacturing
The evidence is overwhelming: NAFTA has damaged the manufacturing industry in the US and Mexico. As the maquiladora industry thrives and human rights are continuously eroded in sweatshops across the globe, it is the responsibility of the US, the world's most insatiable consumer, to call attention to this injustice in the manufacturing sector and correct it.
Peruvian workers warn about national strike
The General Confederation of Peruvian Workers (CGTP) warned on Tuesday that it will stage a national strike to demand higher salaries and to protest against the Free Trade Agreement with the United States.
Property row to test JPEPA
A major labor group on Thursday called on the Japanese government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs, to step into a row between two Japanese groups in the development of a property in Japan owned by the Philippine government.
Our health care workers are not for sale - Junk JPEPA now!
Instead of addressing the longstanding issues of health workers such as inadequate pay, poor working conditions and lack of opportunities in the Philippines, the JPEPA will only give another reason for the government to push with its labor export policy as a measure to boost the economy through strong remittance flows.
Why they migrate
In 2002 alone, 600 Mexican farmers per day were forced off the land due to NAFTA, by US agribusiness dumping subsidized food exports on Mexico. And in the past five years, more than 1,600 Mexican migrants have lost their lives in their attempts to find jobs in the US.
Canadian and Colombian labour jointly reject trade talks
In a joint statement, the largest labour federations in Canada and Colombia reject the announced trade negotiations between Canada, Colombia and Peru as “an extreme free-market trade and investment model which guarantees the rights of investors over the human, social, economic, cultural and labour rights of its citizens.”