Labor & Employment Law

For First Time Ever, U.S. Moves to Enforce Labor Rules in Trade Deal

By James Parks

The U.S. Labor Department announced on Friday the United States will request consultations with Guatemala?s government under the labor chapter of the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA). This is the first such action by any U.S. administration against a trading partner.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said in a statement that the announcement ?demonstrates the strong commitment of the Obama administration to enforcing our trade laws, including the obligation to respect workers’ rights.?

More than two years ago, the AFL-CIO and six Guatemalan unions filed a complaint with the Labor Department outlining the systemic failure of the government of Guatemala to enforce its own labor laws or to take reasonable action to prevent violence against trade unionists.

Last year, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) named Guatemala the second-most dangerous country for trade unionists. Colombia was first.

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said that the action sends a strong message that the Obama administration will vigorously enforce labor obligations under the U.S. free trade agreements.

We are committed to ensuring that U.S. businesses and workers compete on a level playing field and that labor rights are respected in our trading partner countries.

In a report released last year, the AFL-CIO?s Solidarity Center noted that in addition to the brutal repression of workers? freedoms, Guatemala?s laws hinder workers from exercising their basic rights in many ways. Some laws criminalize legitimate union activity. Efforts to strengthen labor laws have been rolled back in recent years. Click here to read the report. 

Trumka also urged the Obama administration to take even stronger action if the consultations are not successful.

We sincerely hope that these consultations will signal meaningful and lasting change for Guatemalan workers. If consultations fail, however, we call upon our government to prosecute this case vigorously through the dispute settlement process.

If workers cannot exercise their rights under the law without fear of violence,  labor law enforcement means little, and trade agreements cannot deliver the promised widely shared benefits.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on August 03, 2010 (boomark / email).