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labour | workers’ rights


CTU has informed EU of free trade agreement labour law breach
The CTU has sent a letter to the European Commissioner of Trade to bring his attention to New Zealand’s disregard of its obligations under the Trade and Sustainable Development chapter of the NZ-EU FTA by the Government’s repeal of Fair Pay Agreements
Avocado farm workers in Michoacán file USMCA labor complaint
Claiming that RV Fresh Foods has violated their labor rights, a group representing local workers filed a petition under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the free trade pact that superseded NAFTA.
TUC and unions in Turkey call for trade talks to be suspended
The TUC and our sister trade union confederations in Türkiye KESK and DISK issued a statement in January 2021 calling for the UK-Türkiye trade agreement signed in 2020 to be suspended due to abuses of labour and human rights in Türkiye.
Australia announces trade deal negotiations with UAE, despite human rights and labour concerns
Critics have highlighted that the UAE is only Australia’s 19th largest trading partner, and have said that the economic benefits are outweighed by the reputational risk Australia takes by implicitly endorsing the UAE’s poor human rights and labour practices through an FTA.
A ‘giant’ of Canadian politics: Ed Broadbent’s mixed legacy on social democracy and free trade
The extreme income disparity and political polarization we see today, at least in part, is the direct result of the path we took in 1988 when Canada signed a free trade deal with the US.
Why is Biden endorsing corporate colonialism in Honduras?
The stakes for Honduras are not simply the billions of dollars otherwise destined for health, housing, and education. They are the very existence of Crawfish Rock: the past and future of the families who have inhabited the island for centuries.
When investors subvert states
The ongoing lawsuit brought against Honduras by an American company underscores the unjust and undemocratic nature of the investor-state dispute settlement system.
Explainer: Free trade zones and free trade agreements
Free trade agreements, free trade zones and special economic zones are all designed to promote business-friendly regulations and encourage economic liberalisation, but they are different in nature.
India should be cautious on labour provisions in FTA negotiations: Experts
India needs to follow a cautious approach while negotiating labour provisions in free trade agreements (FTAs) as those could have potential repercussions on domestic manufacturing and overall trade competitiveness.
Kenya’s hurdles in trade negotiations with United States
American President Joe Biden recently pledged to make Nairobi the investment magnet in Africa. For this to happen, Kenya and the United States must make considerable progress towards a bilateral trade deal under the Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP) framework.
US, Indo-Pacific partners need to ’recalibrate’ trade talks -USTR’s Bianchi
Some countries, including Vietnam and Indonesia, rejected US demands for labor rights standards to be enforced through a dispute settlement system similar to that in the US-Canada-Mexico agreement on trade.
Kellogg’s takes legal action against Venezuela over brand misuse
The action is rooted in the alleged violation of the 1995 Venezuela-UK Bilateral Investment Treaty, marking a significant turn in the multinational’s relationship with the South American nation.
Unions call for laws to ensure trade pact transparency
Unions are pushing for new laws to ensure workers’ rights and Australian jobs are considered when negotiating trade agreements.
AfCFTA: More free trade? For whose benefit?
So what does this trade deal mean for ordinary Africans in a time of deep climate, economic and food crises?
US, Mexico resolve labor probe at Grupo Yazaki auto parts plant in Mexico
The US and Mexico have resolved a labor complaint under a regional trade deal at a Grupo Yazaki auto parts factory in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato, both governments said
On track for sustainable trade?
The EU-New Zealand trade agreement from a sustainability perspective.
How Trump and Biden killed the free-trade consensus
The US has turned sharply against free trade over the past two decades, shifting from an era in which members and presidents of both parties generally embraced one free-trade pact after another.
Biden is turning away from free trade – and that’s a great thing
Trade deals have brought cheaper goods. They’ve also destroyed millions of US jobs and caused US wages to stagnate.
US seeks trade panel to resolve labor conflict at Mexican mine
The US government has requested its first dispute-settlement panel invoking labor rules under a North American trade pact, in an effort to resolve a long-running workers’ conflict at Grupo Mexico’s San Martin mine.
Nothing to lose but your supply chains: IPEF and the resilience agenda
Trade justice activists slammed the lack of transparency in the IPEF negotiation process. Social movements have showing resistance to demand prioritising labour, climate justice, and human rights over corporate profits in Indo-Pacific trade talks.