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labour | workers’ rights


Goddard: Take EPA negotiations seriously
According to the general secretary of the National Union of Public Workers, Joseph Goddard, workers in Barbados stand to be affected by the EPA negotiations in terms of government procurement, intellectual property rights, agriculture, the provision of decent work, fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals, adding that there is the possibility of the agreements compromising the country’s sovereignty.
’Spring struggle’: Industrial peace determines nation’s economic future
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) has announced it would stage a general strike in April 3-14 in protest of parliament’s passage of a bill that labor thinks unfavorable to irregular workers and the government’s "labor road map," followed by walkouts of some industrial unions. KCTU also opposes the Korea-US free trade agreement, while calling for the provision of free medical and educational services.
Economic Partnership Agreement talks look at labor mobility to Europe
Negotiations for possible movement of labour from the Pacific to Europe is part of discussions under the proposed Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) currently underway.
Peru, Colombia spark free-trade-pact déjà vu
Capitol Hill is starting to feel the pangs of trade déjà vu as two pending Latin American free-trade agreements prompt Democrats to demand stronger labor standards and business lobbyists push back.
US-Peru FTA in jeopardy
A trade agreement between the United States and Peru could be rejected in Congress because of Peru’s weak labor record and the agreement’s lack of labor provisions.
Peru trade deal probed over labor rights
The Peruvian government is hoping to swiftly complete a free trade agreement with the United States despite reports by the U.S. government that point to inadequate labor rights in the region that do little to protect workers.
RI to open labor market for Japan
The Indonesian government will open up the domestic labor market in certain sectors to Japanese workers as part of the liberalization of the service sector envisaged under a planned bilateral economic partnership agreement (EPA)
Ecuador workers stop
Ecuadorian laborers kicked off Wednesday a 24hr nationwide work stoppage including roadblocks to reject the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US and the Executive’s neoliberal policy.
Made in North Korea - or is it?
The issue of how much the North Korean workers are paid is, as one manager puts it, "a delicate question" as South Korea negotiates with the United States for a free trade agreement.
Hunger on the border
The labor side agreement of NAFTA hasn’t forced anybody to take responsibility. It’s not an effective guarantee of anyone’s rights.
RI seeks wider access to Japan labor market
Indonesian trade negotiators are pushing their Japanese counterparts to allow the country’s workers more access to Japan’s labor market.
Free trade agreements and Labour: Much more than a Labour Clause
The FTA signed between Peru and the US has 24 chapters. One of these is a labor chapter that is identical to that found in the US-Colombia FTA and the US-Ecuador. On the subject of including this chapter, it is necessary to analyze the impact of signing this Treaty on labor and employment conditions for Colombians.
Qatar: US hopes for movement on free-trade pact in ’06
The US hopes to see during this year the beginning of the process to sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Qatar, Ambassador Chase Untermeyer told a press conference on Thursday.
Anti-trade feelings delay CAFTA
The Central American Free Trade agreement faces skepticism and negative sentiment in countries working to implement the pact.
US economic and security interests enhanced by moral trade agreements
The chairman of the bishops’ International Policy Committee Monday offered a Catholic perspective on a pending free trade agreement, suggesting that the United States and several Andean nations could simultaneously promote human dignity and fair and sustainable development.
CRS Report for Congress: Andean-US FTA negotiations
Given that CAFTA-DR passed only by a small margin, it is unclear how much support the U.S.-Andean FTA will have.
Bush reaches out to Democrats on trade
President Bush is starting to embrace a different political strategy for getting trade agreements through Congress: bipartisanship.
Protests turn violent near APEC venue
About 2,000 farmers and farm activists and 3,000 union workers took to the streets of Pusan to denounce APEC, the World Trade Organisation and US President George W Bush, who was attending the leaders’ meeting.
Democrats and labor leaders balk at lack of workers rights under CAFTA
Democratic members of Congress and labor leaders say they want the Bush administration to move away from CAFTA’s failed trade model or face another tough battle in Congress.
Attracting FDI through the spread of free trade agreements
This paper shows how free trade agreements (FTAs) in Southeast Asia are essentially a means to secure foreign direct investment (FDI) at the expense of labour standards. It explores the significance of FDI in export-oriented industrialisation and for economic transformation in Southeast Asia, with emphasis on the increasing global competition for FDI.