Trade unions must be consulted and have a seat at the table
Writing in the Observer last week, Labour’s secretary of state for business and trade, Jonathan Reynolds outlined the Government’s strategy on post Brexit trade negotiations.
Reynolds mentions three trade deals in particular that he says will help ‘drive growth’
The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal covering the Asia-Pacific trade bloc of 11 countries: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. Reynolds states: “It will mark a major milestone in our journey to full membership of a bloc that will boast a combined GDP of £12trn after the UK joins.”
But the CPTPP in the short and medium terms won’t replace what we have lost in leaving the EU single market and the customs union. The OBR has said that the CTPPT deal would only add 0.04% to GDP in the long term.
The employment rights protections in the CTPPT are wafer thin, complex and cumbersome and depend on governments bringing charges of violation of labour law against each other – as the TUC have pointed out.
China has applied to join the CPTPP (and was recently supported by Vietnam in its bid) Other countries wanting to join the CTPPT include Costa Rica, Ecuador, Taiwan, Ukraine and Uruguay.
Reynolds also refers to the India trade deal. The Modi government is anti-union and cracks down on trade unions at every opportunity. British trade unions and the TUC have good working relationship with Indian unions and keep a close dialogue so Labour need to think again about charging ahead on a trade deal with India that contains weak and non legally binding Labour rights clauses.
In a race to get a deal with India, the last government agreed to non-legally enforceable commitments on labour rights or environmental standards.
The Secretary of State also highlights a potential deal with the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) representing six states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE).
The UK currently does not have a free trade agreement with any of these countries. A Labour government cannot ignore the dreadful record on trade union organisation and employment rights in these countries where labour and human rights are ignored and Labour needs to think again about rushing into a trade agreement with them.
In a press release on July 29th this year it was also announced the Government’s intention to deliver trade talks with Israel, South Korea, Switzerland and Turkey.
The thought of any trade talks with Israel given the International Court of Justice ruling against it on the issue of genocide is unthinkable.
In addition, Labour will need to fix the shambles left by the Tories in the suspended Canadian trade talks over agriculture.
Rather than negotiating trade deals with countries abusing workers’ rights, the government should focus on its welcome initiative to ‘reset’ the UK’s relationship with the EU, and build a partnership built on the highest standards for employment and environmental standards.
The government must pursue a strong workers agenda in its approach to trade.
Trade unions must be consulted and have a seat at the table. There must be protection for all workers from unfair trade practices while raising employment standards for working people with no race to the bottom.
Tony Burke is the Co-Chair Of The Campaign For Trade Union Freedom
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