Social Europe

politics, economy and employment & labour

  • Themes
    • Global cities
    • Strategic autonomy
    • War in Ukraine
    • European digital sphere
    • Recovery and resilience
  • Publications
    • Books
    • Dossiers
    • Occasional Papers
    • Research Essays
    • Brexit Paper Series
  • Podcast
  • Videos
  • Newsletter
  • Membership

Anchoring Labour Rights More Effectively In EU Trade Agreements

Adrian Smith and Liam Campling 13th July 2017

Adrian Smith

Adrian Smith

Free trade agreements (FTAs) are growing in number and the inclusion in them of labour provisions seeking to improve working conditions are also increasing. A recent study by the ILO found that over 80 per cent of preferential trade agreements that have come into force since 2013 have included such provisions.

The European Union (EU), the USA and Canada have been at the forefront of developing this approach to the regulation of working conditions through trade agreements.

There has been a rapid and widespread increase of interest in labour provisions in EU FTAs because of negotiations with the US over TTIP and Canada over CETA. Growing discussions and debates have been taking place in a range of policy circles as to whether the EU approach is effective. Consultations are now taking place around the reform and improvement of labour provisions. For example, the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung has recently drafted a reformed labour chapter, and the European Commission’s Directorate General for Trade is working on proposals for change. Each is proposing various ways forward to address some of the limitations of the existing models identified by researchers in the UK, Belgium, and Germany.

campling bio

Liam Campling

After a two year international research project looking at EU labour provisions in operation, we have highlighted some of the main limitations of the approach taken and how greater accountability could be established in current agreements. Here, however, we propose four steps for reform in future agreements from pre-ratification of trade agreements to their implementation.

The first step concerns what needs to happen before a trade agreement is ratified. In comparisons between the EU’s and the US’s approach to labour provisions in FTAs, research suggests that pre-ratification requirements that are demanded by the US, in relation to labour law pertaining to the most serious labour problems, have resulted in actual legislative changes in partner countries. There are problems with this approach, not least the US’s refusal to adopt the majority of the ILO’s Core Labour Standards, and the thorny question of whether OECD countries promoting labour standards overseas adequately implement those standards domestically in the first place. Nonetheless, labour organisations in many countries are demanding full ratification of the ILO core conventions as a necessary but not sufficient framework in the process of empowering workers. Of course, elaborate labour law on the statute books means little without effective implementation.

Second, labour provisions need to include, but also reach beyond, the focus of the core labour standards on freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, forced and compulsory labour, the abolition of child labour, and equality and non-discrimination in employment. Our research shows that many of the important labour issues in partner countries are not covered by these Core Labour Standards. The CLS+ framework widens the focus to include a living wage, properly regulated hours of work, and health and safety standards. This wider understanding of the basic rights of workers should be included more centrally in trade policies seeking to address labour abuses and to enhance standards.

Third, effective implementation of the labour provisions is critical. The EU model is based on dialogue and co-operation but to date the European Commission has refused to invoke the limited dispute settlement mechanisms available to it. Monitoring requires mechanisms which are able to identify current labour issues in partner countries. This could be facilitated by secretariats supporting the monitoring work of the key institution established by the EU’s Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) chapters in its trade agreements: the Domestic Advisory Groups (DAGs). Providing more intelligence from on-the-ground knowledgeable experts would build capacity in these institutions which are crucial to the EU’s model. Also, in many contexts and export sectors workers are not organised in trade unions and don’t have direct input into the DAGs so other mechanisms of monitoring are required. Worker-driven monitoring such as that developed by Electronics Watch may provide a model. This approach aims to provide mechanisms by which the most knowledgeable participants – workers themselves – can report on labour abuses. While these systems will require financial resources, a fair share of the gains from reduced trade friction and tariff liberalisation could be used.


Become a Social Europe Member


Support independent publishing and progressive ideas by becoming a Social Europe member for less than 5 Euro per month. Your support makes all the difference!


Click here to become a member

A major current in the debate is whether sanctions for non-compliance should be introduced. One criticism is that sanctions can be a blunt instrument, but perhaps they are perhaps most effective when targeted at particular sectors or companies that don’t meet fundamental labour standards. Sanctions on non-compliant companies need to be sufficient to out-weigh the immediate economic gains to those firms from a lowering of labour standards.

A less well-explored option could include a staged “reform and reward” approach to trade-related incentives (e.g. lower tariffs, relaxed rules of origin) for employers which meet an agreed set of labour standards. There are parallels here with the EU’s Generalized Systems of Preferences Plus approach which unilaterally provides improved market access for the implementation of international conventions on good governance, sustainable development and human rights.

Dispute settlement requires going beyond state-to-state models to enable non-governmental parties (e.g. trade unions) to bring legitimate cases for investigation. This reflects wider calls by civil society organisations for a citizen’s dispute settlement mechanism to subvert the logic of Investor-State Dispute Settlement and the Investment Court System, which have been critiqued for favouring the rights of corporations over governments.

Fourth, TSD chapters need to deal more adequately with corporate power in networks of global production. While universal labour rights are critical, the employment issues experienced by workers are often specific to particular sectors and value chains. Consequently, the template approach favoured in most trade agreements does not always enable improved working conditions. One way to address this question is to develop side-agreements around leading export sectors which identify the core labour issues and provide a binding road map for their monitoring and improvement.

If implemented these four proposals would go a major way to addressing the fundamental limitations of the current EU model based on dialogue and co-operation. If there is political will to deal effectively with the negative consequences and structural limitations of globalisation for workers then we need more progressive alternatives, including in the make-up of trade agreements. The suggestions here might provide some resources for those wishing to counter the negative consequences of untrammelled free markets, which can often result in a so-called “race to the bottom” in working conditions.

With contributions by: Dr Mirela Barbu, Postdoctoral Research Associate in the School of Geography at the Queen Mary University of London; Dr James Harrison, Reader in the School of Law at the University of Warwick; and Dr Ben Richardson, Associate Professor in International Political Economy in the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Warwick.

The research underpinning this contribution is derived from a UK Economic and Social Research Council-funded project entitled “Working Beyond the Border: European Union Trade Agreements and Labour Standards” (award number: ES/M009343/1). Further details about this research can be found here.

Adrian Smith and Liam Campling

Adrian Smith is Professor of Human Geography at the Queen Mary University of London. He is directing a major ESRC-funded research project entitled Working Beyond the Border: European Union Trade Agreements and Labour Standards. Liam Campling is Senior Lecturer in Political Economy in the School of Business and Management at Queen Mary University of London.

You are here: Home / Politics / Anchoring Labour Rights More Effectively In EU Trade Agreements

Most Popular Posts

new world order,state,citizen A new world order: from warring states to citizensPaul Mason
Tesla,IF Metall,electric car,union US electric-car maker faces Swedish union shockGerman Bender
Israel,Hamas Israel and Hamas: the debasement of discourseRobert Misik
Israel-Palestine,refugee,refugees Israel-Palestine: a comparative perspectiveBo Rothstein
Germany,sick,economic Germany’s true economic diseasePeter Bofinger

Most Recent Posts

human security,Europe,investment,military Investing in human security in EuropeChiara Bonaiuti
citizenship education,European Union,democratic European citizenship education—antidote to hateRéka Heszterényi
healthcare,hospitals,social dialogue,pandemic Healthcare depends on the health of social dialogueJorge Cabrita and Victoria Cojocariu
multi-level,Europe,networks,sovereignty Barking up the wrong European treeJan Zielonka
renewable,fossil-fuel,energy,renewables,inflation,prices The renewable answer to Europe’s fossil-fuel inflationFelix Heilmann and Maximilian Krahé

Other Social Europe Publications

Global cities cover pdf Global cities
strategic autonomy Strategic autonomy
Bildschirmfoto 2023 05 08 um 21.36.25 scaled 1 RE No. 13: Failed Market Approaches to Long-Term Care
front cover Towards a social-democratic century?
Cover e1655225066994 National recovery and resilience plans

ETUI advertisement

Response measures to the energy crisis: a missed opportunity to feed the socio-ecological contract

With winter coming and Europe ready to get through it without energy shortages, power cuts and recession, new research conducted by the ETUI in seven EU member states (AT-FR-DE-GR-IT-PL-ES) highlights that, with some 80 per cent of spending being directed to broad-based measures, short-term national government support during the recent energy crisis was poorly targeted. As a result, both social- and climate-policy goals were rather sidelined, with the biggest beneficiaries of public fossil-fuel subsidies being higher income groups and the wealthiest people.


AVAILABLE HERE

Eurofound advertisement

How will Europe’s green transition impact employment?

Climate-change objectives and decarbonisation measures are vital for the future of Europe. But how will these objectives affect employment and the labour market?

In the latest episode of the Eurofound Talks podcast series, Mary McCaughey speaks with the Eurofound senior research manager John Hurley about new research which shows a marginal increase in net employment from EU decarbonisation measures—but also potentially broad shifts in the labour market which could have a profound impact in several areas.


LISTEN HERE

Foundation for European Progressive Studies Advertisement

Transforming capitalism in the Age of AI

Will the EU once again accept Big Tech's power as a fait accompli while belatedly trying to mitigate risks, or can it chart a different course?

Join our conference on the EU approach to the digital transition. On Wednesday, 6 December, FEPS and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Competence Centre on the Future of Work are co-organising an evening of high-level debates on the digital future of Europe. There will be keynotes by the European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit; Evgeny Morozov, founder of The Syllabus; and Phoebe V Moore, globally recognised expert on digitalisation and the workplace. The event will be moderated by John Thornhill, innovation editor at the Financial Times.


MORE HERE

Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

WSI European Collective Bargaining Report 2022 / 2023

With real wages falling by 4 per cent in 2022, workers in the European Union suffered an unprecedented loss in purchasing power. The reason for this was the rapid increase in consumer prices, behind which nominal wage growth fell significantly. Meanwhile, inflation is no longer driven by energy import prices, but by domestic factors. The increased profit margins of companies are a major reason for persistent inflation. In this difficult environment, trade unions are faced with the challenge of securing real wages—and companies have the responsibility of making their contribution to returning to the path of political stability by reducing excess profits.


DOWNLOAD HERE

About Social Europe

Our Mission

Article Submission

Membership

Advertisements

Legal Disclosure

Privacy Policy

Copyright

Social Europe Archives

Search Social Europe

Themes Archive

Politics Archive

Economy Archive

Society Archive

Ecology Archive

Follow us

RSS Feed

Follow us on LinkedIn

Follow us on YouTube

Social Europe ISSN 2628-7641