why eu ‘trade’ means a war on workers linda kaucher presentation for institute for employment...
TRANSCRIPT
Why EU ‘trade’ means a war on workers
Linda Kaucher
Presentation for Institute for Employment Rights conference ‘Developments in European Employment Law’
Wed March 21st 2012 London
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3 interlinked global trajectories – • Corporate takeover
- corporations concentrating, overtaking + commandeering the power of states, via size, international trade agreements
• Corporations acquiring rights to access government spending (public procurement)
- via complicit governments, international trade agreements
• Globalised commodification of labour (only ‘cheap’ counts) - corporate profiteering from cross-
border wage differential via intern’l trade agreements
n.b. Role: City of London Corporation, ‘thecityUK’2
EU’s external trade function
• Trade Commission (D.G.Trade) - heavyweight part of Commission (international)
- invariably ignored in EU debate
• Fixes EU neoliberalism in international trade agreements subject to international trade law
• Implications for workers – allows cheap labour from rest of world as ‘trade’
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2 ways to capitalise on wage differential
1) Move work to cheaper labour areas
2) Move cheaper labour into higher paid areas
Focus here on 24
The EU trade agreement landscape:
• EU Trade Commission negotiates on trade on behalf of MSs
• WTO multilateral Doha Round stalled • Since 2005, EU pursuing bilateral and
regional trade agreements (much more secretive)
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What is ‘trade’?Not just ‘trade-in-goods(agricultural, manufactured)
- although this focus is maintained
Also trade-in-services - 12 all-encompassing service categories (including ‘Other’)
- ‘Business Services’ category includes
banking, investment, financial services
- Trade-in-services also includes moving workers across borders.
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How trade-in-services includes moving workers across borders:
4 ‘modes’ of service delivery cross-cut categories:
- Mode 1 - e.g. by internet
- Mode 2 - consumer crosses border e.g. tourism, foreign students
- Mode 3 - company establishes across border
- Mode 4 - workers moved across borders7
‘Liberalisation’ - key concept
Liberalising trade-in-goods = reducing at-the-border tariffs (& subsidies)
Liberalising trade-in-services = opening investment ops to transnational
corporations and granting them rights, including rights to bring in workers
Can be - unilateral - international trade commitments
UK - unilaterally liberalised, as well as big mover in trade deals - behest of City of London Corp 8
EU/India Free Trade Agreement
• Neg’d since 2007 - trying for completion this year
• Mode 4 access – Indian govt’s single demand
• Is mostly a UK/India FTA (‘85%’)
• UK will take biggest part of Mode 4 commitment – but commitment is not a ‘limit’ or ‘cap’
• Relevant UK PBS category- ‘international agreements’ Tier 5 - no numerical limits
• Very big issues for Indian people re liberalisation demands on India - protests 9
How UK govt is accommodating current Mode 4 commitments (ICTs)
• Supposedly ‘senior managers’ & ‘specialists’ – abuse allowed by UK govt
• Now substantial part of UK labour migration (but not ‘migration’) • In ratio to population, UK - 2 X US, 10X Germany, dble Australia,
dble Canada
• A discrete Tier 2 PBS category with no numerical limits (i.e. no ‘cap’!)
• Most coming for less than a year - lower wage requirement
• Can be paid TMW – made up with tax free ‘allowances’. No NI.
• ICTs, but most being supplied into other firms 10
Current Indian Mode 4 demands
Not ICTs (already commitment on these)
but
Contractual Service Suppliers (CSS)- workers sent/brought into any sector by
Indian companies NOT established here Independent Professionals (IP)
n.b. wide spectrum of employment circumstance. What does it mean here? 11
TUC - inaction or betrayal?
• September 2011 Congress resolution to publicise and oppose the EU/India Free Trade Agreement. Why hasn’t the TUC acted?
• Worse - quiet meetings with the Trade Commission fixing up an unworkable ‘safeguard clause’, involvement of ETUC.
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Policy continuum on labour move’t-Internal EU / EU external trade-
EU move’t lab & services<->Mode 4 in trade ag’ts
Both - allow undercutting of workers in host country by workers brought/sent in
- have EU and UK govt support - subject to government propaganda
- subject to false projections before the tie-in - ‘can’t change’ once fixed
Difference - Mode 4 workers potentially from cheaper labour countries
- Mode 4 trade concessions more secretive - Mode 4 is international – harder to reverse13
Other EU trade agreementsIn process •Canada•Singapore •Eastern Europe states•Central America•Andes
Earlier stage•Southern Mediterranean (Morocco to Israel/Palestine)•China (investment agreement) •US•EPA with West Africa•EPA with Pacific (PNG, Fiji)
All include Mode 4 offers 14
Global employment situation
• Unemployment - a global crisis
• Wide open for labour exploitation
• Legalised means set up Internal EU rules + ECJ decisions / international trade law
Yet debate usually limited to national horizon
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EU ‘4 freedoms’ goods, services, finance, labour,
Of concern for workers: -Free movement of labour - workers come
individually facilitated by agencies, EU financial supported including ‘research’ funding - Free movement of services – firms bring in
own workers for contracts
Not just Eastern Europe accession countries Also - high unemployment states Also - de-facto accession of 6 more low-income countries, disguised as ‘trade agreements’ - no attention, debate
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Across whole skills spectrum
• EU labour migration - usually taken as ‘unskilled’ (though free movement of services - bring in own skilled labour)
• EU stipulates ‘skilled’ or ‘highly skilled’ for Mode 4 entry (n.b. UK grad unemployment)
• Means whole skills spectrum potentially undermined by cheap migrant labour
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Why the UK unions’ call for ‘equal pay and conditions’ is inadequate
• NOT what this agenda is about
• Temporary migrant workers don’t get organised
• Comparative advantage undermined by ‘equal pay’
• Even low UK wages worth a lot overseas: focus on exploitation of migrant workers misplaced
• UK resident workers are losing.
• TNCs expect high skills cheap –policy-makers ignore
• Fails to take account of continuum, bigger picture, trade agenda
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Effects on national economy
• Decreased tax take, no NI
• Wages repatriated - out of economy
• No earn/spend cycle - for economic recovery
• Increased welfare bill
• Skills lost, irretrievably, for future economy19
Some conclusions • Continuum shows direction for workers is down
• EU including Mode 4 in all trade deals- ‘carrot’
• Recognising, resisting the situation is not ‘racist’. As workers’ rights are lost in the few places they exist, the model lost, less progress for workers elsewhere
• Mode 4 in ‘international trade’ requires secrecy – so far effectively maintained
• Anti-worker agenda supported by spin
• Financial services lobby is fundamental20
Action
• Recognise: moving workers is major capitalist strategy.
• Disseminate information & analysis, expose spin
• Counter reluctance to discuss cheap labour: facilitate necessary public debate -> asserting other work values -> law
• Expose hidden trade agenda, relationship to domestic agenda, role of financial services
• Question EU free movement: UK govt can resist EU rules
• Call TUC to account re the EU/India FTA and beyond
• Challenge politicians to pursue these issues
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