ISDS Case Map
labour | workers' rights
Trade unions from the United States have joined forces with their Malaysian counterparts to strongly oppose ongoing negotiations for bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) until workers' concerns are first addressed.
The Bush administration said Wednesday it will renegotiate the language covering labor rights in free trade agreements it has reached with Peru, Colombia and Panama, in order to get the deals approved by the new Democratic Congress. The three countries have already been notified.
Some 230 years ago, King George III taught the American colonists an important lesson: Because taxation without representation is tyranny, the public must have a voice in the making of trade policy. The new Congress should keep that lesson in mind as it attempts to devise trade strategies to promote labor rights (and other human rights) overseas.
Korea's Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy requested a budget of 1 billion won (US$1 million) to the National Assembly on January 1, saying that it needed extra funds to offset the harsher effects of FTAs, estimating 13,000 firms and 100,000 workers would be affected.
Free trade agreements with the United States, Japan, China and Southeast Asia would put more than 100,000 South Koreans out of work over the next 10 years, according to a government estimate.
US Trade Representative (USTR) Susan Schwab, who announced the deal on December 19, said that the agreement is subject to "additional discussions" on labor.
The Jordan-United States free-trade agreement was supposed to be a labor-rights model. It has been a disaster -- 'globalization' at its worst.
The Korean government repression that began on November 22nd is continuing to spread like a forest fire. However, the people's struggle to block the KorUS FTA will not end here.
Bahrain has banned strikes and worker demonstrations in most business sectors, a month after labour law reforms banning the sacking of strikers encouraged a wave of trade union activity in the Gulf island state.
Tens of thousands of South Korean workers held rallies and labor strikes Wednesday to oppose a free trade agreement with the United States and demand better working conditions.
