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labour | workers’ rights

Labor leader explains anti-FTA stance
14-Sep-2006 Donga
Interview with the president of AFL-CIO, John Sweeney, on the US-Korea FTA.
KMU sees more retrenchment with new RP-Japan trade pact
14-Sep-2006 INQ7
The militant Filipino labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) said it fears more retrenchments and lower wages with the impending liberalization of the country’s automotive and steel sectors under the recently signed Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA).
Philippine FTA to reshape health care
13-Sep-2006
The free-trade agreement clinched with the Philippines on Saturday will test whether Japan is serious about opening its labor market, a change that would trade homogeneity for a more youthful workforce.
Japan to accept 1,000 Filipino nurses, caregivers under FTA
12-Sep-2006 Japan Times
Japan will accept 400 nurses and 600 caregivers from the Philippines under the bilateral free-trade agreement signed over the weekend, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Monday.
RP-Japan pact must be scrutinized by Senate — Pimentel
11-Sep-2006 INQ7.net
The newly signed Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement must be scrutinized by the Philippine Senate because of apprehensions over its alleged disadvantages to the country, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said on Monday. Workers’ and other groups also slammed the signing of the agreement, while a Department of Labor and Employment official said he doubted many Filipino health care workers would want to go to Japan.
Japan, RP sign trade pact, allowing flow of Filipino nurses
10-Sep-2006 ABS-CBN
Japan and the Philippines signed a free-trade pact after overcoming the thorny issue of Filipina nurses seeking work in the world’s second-biggest economy.
Economic partnership with Japan will not benefit Filipinos
9-Sep-2006
It is contemptible how the Philippine government trades its citizens for export goods that will only push the country to even greater disaster. This is the aim of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is set to sign with Japan Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi today during the Asia Europe Meeting in Helsinki, Finland.
Philippines and Japan sign FTA Accord - For Arroyo, the future of Filipinos is cheap - Migrante-Japan
9-Sep-2006
For Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the future of the Filipino people has a very cheap price. So cheap that she has opted to sell it to Japan by further opening up the local economy in exchange for the annual deployment of 400-500 caregivers and nurses to Japan.
Medical workers may be losers in FTA
9-Sep-2006
Philippine officials may be upbeat about finalizing the bilateral free-trade agreement with Japan this weekend, but there is some concern that the country’s medical workers will be the losers in the deal.
Trade-talk foes hit the streets
7-Sep-2006
Korean workers and farmers take the front line of a demonstration Wednesday against U.S. trade talks with South Korea. The midday march briefly stopped downtown traffic as demonstrators laid down in the streets around Westlake Park.
Another bad backroom deal
7-Sep-2006
We’ve all been witness to the Bush administration’s half-truths. Now, it’s the same old song and dance with the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (KORUS-FTA) talks that are taking place in Seattle this week. While the administration boisterously makes claims about the wonders of free-trade agreements, the real story behind the rhetoric is: undemocratic, unfair and unconscionable.
Services under SAFTA: How to make it work for South Asia?
6-Sep-2006
The service sector has emerged as one of the major contributors in the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and trade. On an average, while services account for more than 70% of GDP in developed countries and 50% in developing countries, their share in global exports have grown from 15% to nearly 25% over the last two decades. In the case of South Asia too, the share of services in GDP and trade has increased.
US, South Korea to begin third round of free-trade talks
6-Sep-2006
The US and South Korea begin a third round of free-trade talks on Wednesday, hoping to make progress toward an accord that could be the biggest of its kind for the US since the North American Free Trade Agreement of 1993.
American critics blast S Korean-US trade talks
5-Sep-2006 Asia Pulse
American opponents of a proposed South Korean-US free trade accord on Monday accused the deal of devastating the lives of workers in both countries, while benefiting only big businesses.
Japan to set upper limit in accepting Philippine nurses under FTA
31-Aug-2006 Kyodo
Japan has agreed with the Philippines to set an upper limit on the number of Philippine nurses and caregivers — 400 to 500 annually — it will accept under a bilateral free trade agreement which is scheduled to be signed by leaders of the two countries on Sept. 9, government sources said Thursday.
Mexico’s corn farmers see their livelihoods wither away
31-Aug-2006 San Francisco Chronicle
An estimated 1.5 million agricultural jobs have been lost since NAFTA went into effect in 1994.
FTA, KORUS FTA and challenges of the labor movement
31-Aug-2006 KCTU
I am going to provide in this writing laborers’ perspectives towards the KORUS FTA; what lies in its core, why it is so problematic, and what kinds of consequences it will bring about. In addition, although not perfect, I am going to show how the Korean labor movement should respond to the KORUS FTA and deal with its challenges.
Asean-Australia-NZ FTA may be concluded in 2007
25-Aug-2006
The Asean-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) talks could be concluded in 2007, despite some wrangling over issues like government procurements and environment.
Labour & environmental issues in FTA talk, says NZ
20-Aug-2006 Bernama
Labour and environmental issues will still be included in the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiation between Australia, New Zealand and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a senior New Zealand trade official said.
Salem outlines measures to protect workers’ rights in QIZs - Jordan
14-Aug-2006 MENAFN
Jordan’s Minister of Labour Bassem Salem on Sunday met with US Ambassador David Hale and delegates of the Office of the US Trade Representative to outline efforts to safeguard workers’ rights in the country’s Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZ).