AFL-CIO Again Tears Into Poor Labor Conditions in TPP Countries
The Trans-Pacific Partnership is poised to fall far short of adequately addressing labor rights abuses in Mexico, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei, all of which are parties to Trans-Pacific Partnership talks, said the AFL-CIO in a scathing report released on Feb. 26 (here). To date, the U.S. is taking steps in the right direction by directing free trade agreement partners to honor the fundamental principles of the International Labor Organization by passing laws consistent with those principles, but U.S. FTAs don’t force partners to adopt ILO conventions.
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Those fundamental principles include freedom of association and collective bargaining, said the AFL-CIO. “The enforcement of these standards has been slow and cumbersome, and relies totally on the political will of governments,” said the union. “Labor provisions, whatever they may be, require active monitoring, investigation and oversight in order to be effective and provide the necessary impetus to comply.” The lack of mandatory labor reform fuels a “race to the bottom in wages and working conditions, while its benefits will continue to go to a very small percentage of the elite and multinational corporations,” said the report.
Mexican employers, as well as unions controlled by employers, violently suppress worker attempts to form independent unions, said the AFL-CIO. Force and child labor is pervasive in that country, as well, said the union, while listing other infringements on human and labor rights. Forced labor and human trafficking are also common in Malaysia, said the union.
The “authoritarian” Vietnamese government muzzles political dissent and freedom of association, the union said. Forced and child labor also plays a large role in the garment sector, among others, said the report. U.S. apparel importers are eagerly targeting more lax trade rules with Vietnam through TPP (see 14081105). And the human rights conditions in Brunei are “dire,” said the union. Migrant workers “face labor exploitation and trafficking, related to debt bondage from labor recruitment fees, wage theft, passport confiscation, abuse and confinement,” said the report. “Domestic workers especially are prone to this kind of abuse.”
The AFL-CIO has repeatedly criticized the TPP and called on Congress to obstruct Trade Promotion Authority, widely seen as critical in securing congressional approval of TPP. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and other Democratic lawmakers have raised the same concerns about labor conditions in TPP countries in the recent past (see 1412040069). A group of LGBT lawmakers also recently urged President Barack Obama to push real change in LGBT laws in Malaysia and Brunei or drop those countries from the negotiations (see 1502190012).