Citizen-Based Global Affairs Agendas

Protecting Labor Standards in the Global Economy

Investment and trade flows--facilitated by new international agreements and advances in communications technology--are increasingly integrating the world into a global economy. In the absence of enforceable international labor standards, this economic integration has weakened unions and created a downward pressure on wages. An array of citizen movements is organizing to ensure that basic labor rights and standards are integrated into new trade/investment agreements and into the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO). As set forth by the International Labor Organization (ILO) and written into the national laws of most developed nations, the core labor standards are freedom of association, collective bargaining rights, no forced labor, prohibition of child labor, and no discrimination. In their campaigns for "fair trade," many citizen and union activists advocate that these core standards become part of enforceable social clauses written into trade/investment agreements--violations of which would result in economic consequences for both governments and corporations. Other citizen groups argue that that the WTO should be abolished, not reformed, and that the incorporation of labor standards through social clauses will serve to strengthen corporate-driven globalization while doing little to protect labor. Another faction of activists argue, along with most developing country governments, that social clauses in trade/investment agreements will primarily serve the interests of wealthy countries that already have these standards in place. Citizen groups and unions concerned with advancing global labor standards have been largely responsible for raising international awareness about the downside and corporate-driven character of economic globalization. Related citizen movements advocate corporate codes of conduct, independent monitoring of working conditions, and a "living" minimum wage for all workers who produce goods for the international market.

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Sources for More Information:

AFL-CIO
http://www.aflcio.org/

Campaign for Labor Rights
http://www.summersault.com/~agj/clr/join_us.html

Economic Justice Now
http://www.economicjustice.org/

Global Exchange
http://www.globalexchange.org/economy/

International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU)
http://www.icftu.org/

International Labor Rights Fund
http://www.laborrights.org/actnow/index.html

Jobs With Justice
http://www.jwj.org/corepage.htm

National Consumers League
http://www.natlconsumersleague.org/kidcompa.htm

Public Citizen Global Trade Watch
http://www.citizen.org/pctrade/activism/activist.htm

Quaker United Nations Office Geneva
http://hostings.diplomacy.edu/quaker/
click on the How to get involved link"