MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
TPP Agreement bad for democracy, rights, public services and health, says ITUC
“The agreement threatens democracy, social and labour rights, and access to public services and medicines”, said Sharon Burrow, ITUC General Secretary The ITUC has called the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) a major setback for employment and workers’ rights prospects, and signaled the determination of unions in TPP countries to oppose it. After five years of secret negotiations, twelve Asia/Pacific-Rim Ministers signed the agreement today in Auckland, New Zealand, amid strong criticism from trade unions and other civil society organisations.
The text of the agreement that was published late last year shows that the negotiators ignored repeated warnings and calls from trade unions, civil society, academia, jurists, legislators and others. They warned that the deal undermines sustainability and social justice, decreases the power of labour and communities, and increases the power of corporations.
“I am calling on the ratifying authorities in each of the twelve TPP Parties to reject this agreement because it threatens democracy, social and labour rights, and access to public services and medicines. The TPP promotes corporate greed and imposes unjustified and unacceptable costs for workers and communities,” said Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary.
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Read all commentsThe United States is not a democracy. It is a dictatorship of corporations. Rich corporations and poor and unemployed people.
Feb 05th, 2016 - 11:34 am 0Caution with this!
“Sharon Burrow, ITUC General Secretary” and gobshite to the world.
Feb 05th, 2016 - 05:53 pm 0There's no helping people like her and WTF she is still in this position is incredible .
Brasileiro just have a look around at all the poor unemployed people that your current government has created! Because my country also experienced the end of the commodities boom just like yours and yet we aren't in a recession with exploding unemployment and high inflation like Brazil is. Why? Because we opened our economy up to make it competitive and you didn't.
Feb 06th, 2016 - 02:55 am 0That is why the TPP doesn't even include foundries like Brazil, because you aren't capable.
Leave the prosperity to the country that can handle it.... like mine.
Chris,
I'm not a fan of the laissez-faire capitalism of the US but the TPP format doesn't impose the US economic on anyone. The ITUC is pretty worthless in developed countries where labour laws are pretty high and workers have plenty of protection. For the developing countries in the TPP, I've yet to see anything that is going to make their workers lives worse than they already are.
Many trade unionists just can't accept that companies must run at a profit. They naively believe that if only the blue collar workers run all the economy then everyone would be happy and rich with a pet unicorn even after the a Soviet Union disproved their beliefs they still vainly try to find relevancy in the modern world. While unions can do good, that good is outweighed by the protection racket they pretty much run in many industries.
The funny thing is that the Labor Party in Australia is the one that presided over most of the TPP negotiations.
What many seem to forget is that should the TPP prove damaging to Australia's interests then we can just pull out. Nothing is permanent.
Australia's focus has moved onto RCEP now
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regional_Comprehensive_Economic_Partnership
This involves the rest of Asia and the only two relevant BRICS. I still can't believe that so many Latin Americans rejoice that the FTAA didn't eventuate. But then so many have Brasileiro's understanding of the world..... and look how well that's worked out.
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