Forwarded message: Delivered-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Mon, 01 Feb 1999 13:31:35 -0800 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Sid Shniad <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: LABOUR LEADERS TO TARGET NEW ROUND OF GLOBAL TRADE TALKS X-UID: 6925 The Toronto Star January 31, 1999 LABOUR LEADERS TO TARGET NEW ROUND OF GLOBAL TRADE TALKS DAVOS, Switzerland - After helping defeat the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI), labour leaders plan to turn their sights next on a proposed new round of global trade talks under the World Trade Organization. This is part of a backlash by labour leaders who blame globalization for high unemployment, growing inequality and severe cutbacks to the social safety net. Speaking at the World Economic Forum yesterday, John Sweeney, president of the American Federation of Labour, said the debate on the future world economic system ``can no longer be contained in closed rooms in luxurious hotels.'' Sweeney said labour leaders will be converging on Seattle at the end of November, when trade ministers from around the world meet to launch a new round of global trade negotiations, to demand that that this include a strong commitment to worker and human rights and the environment. In particular, labour unions from around the world are demanding that new trade agreements entrench the core labour standards of the International Labour Organization. These are: freedom of association; the right to collective bargaining; no forced labour; no discrimination; and the elimination of child labour. The terrible social and economic costs of the global financial crisis can have a sobering effect, Sweeney said. ''For two decades, conservative governments have been on a binge, dismantling controls over capital, currencies and corporations. Now we awake, the morning after, our heads aching, our hearts burdened by the destruction we see around us.'' -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
