US: Improve Workers’ Rights in Trade Accords

by via HRW

Wed, Oct 22, 2008 8:37AM

Washington, DC, October 22, 2008) Labor provisions in US free trade accords are weak and are not effectively enforced, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. Major reforms are needed. The US approach to labor rights in its free trade agreements, beginning with NAFTA, has failed. The government needs to make dramatic changes in its strategy.

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The Human Rights Watch report outlines in detail elements needed to effectively guarantee labor rights, including recommendations that US free trade agreements:

Unambiguously require all parties to uphold core labor rights in their domestic laws;
Require all parties to effectively enforce their labor laws in all cases involving trade or investment between the parties;
Penalize corporations implicated in labor abuses; and
Depoliticize enforcement mechanisms by significantly reducing state discretion throughout the labor complaint and dispute settlement processes.

The report also includes specific proposals for a new US administration to make compliance with trade accords labor requirements a priority, including to:

Raise the subject of labor rights from the beginning of free trade talks and require that potential US trading partners remedy deficiencies before negotiations conclude;
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For more information: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/10/22/usi...

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