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Trade in Services Agreement (TISA)

PSI is currently undertaking further research on the effects of the TISA on our sectors. PSI will be working with civil society and other allies to oppose the harmful effects of the TISA.

Global unions stand together against the Trade in Services Agreement

02 October 2014

“Trade matters to everyone because the rules affecting services intrude into every area of our life.” said Daniel Bertossa, PSI Director of Policy & Governance at the WTO Public Forum in Geneva, on Wednesday 1st October 2014. “The Trade in Services Agreement will deregulate financial services, liberalise the public sector and restrict democracy in our countries", continues Bertossa.

Audio: RadioLabour report on the Global Trade Summit

19 September 2014

Public services unions worldwide are determined to open to public scrutiny a new wave of global trade agreements, which are now being discussed behind closed doors. Listen to the RadioLabour report on PSI's Global Trade Summit.

Public services unions open new trade agreements to public debate

16 September 2014

#psiglobaltradesummit 2014 Washington, D.C., Tuesday 16 September 2014 - Public services unions worldwide are determined to open to public scrutiny a new wave of global trade agreements, which are now being discussed behind closed doors.

New Trade Deal—TISA—Could Undermine Safety, Environmental, Workers’ Rights Regs

11 September 2014

AFL-CIO - The United States is currently negotiating a new International Services Agreement called the Trade in Services Agreement, or TISA. At the start of 2012, a number of World Trade Organization (WTO) member states, including the European Union, formed a group called the “Really Good Friends of Services” or RGF (and yes, that is really what they named themselves), with the purpose of drafting a trade agreement that would further liberalize trade and investment in services and expand regulatory disciplines on services sectors.

Audio: Globe Trade Agreements for Corporations

04 September 2014

RadioLabour has prepared a special report on the global trade agreements: What they are and how they will affect working people.

New Trade Agreements: The Threats to Public Services and Democracy

04 September 2014
'The Really Good Friends of Services' - Photo: Jared Rodriguez - Truthout

#psiglobaltradesummit2014 - Public Services International (PSI), affiliate leaders and partners will convene in Washington, D.C., 15-17 September 2014 to discuss the new threats posed to workers, public services, democracy and our communities by trade and investment agreements.

Undeterred by sharp increases in inequality across the globe, nor the devastation created by reckless deregulation of the financial markets, multinational corporations have been urging our governments that further radical and permanent liberalization is now required through a web of binding trade and investment agreements.

TISA: What Global Corporations learned from the Battle in Seattle

12 August 2014

The Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) has recently burst into the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Negotiated in secret in Geneva for almost two years by over 50 countries, including the European Union, USA, Japan, Canada, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Australia and South Korea, it has taken months of work from global researchers and a spectacular leak from Julian Assange’s Wikileaks to expose anything about its contents.

PSI meets UNCTAD Secretary-General to discuss public services, trade and development

21 July 2014
PSI meets UNCTAD Secretary-General

PSI recently met with Dr Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary-General of the United Nations Committee on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) to discuss the role public services play in development and how trade agreements can undermine this.

Video: Trade agreements and the threat to quality public services

24 June 2014

Sanya Reid Smith - Third World Network, Guest speaker at PSI's Executive Board meeting in Nyon, Switzerland 24-25 June 2014.

Audio: A RadioLabour interview with Rosa Pavanelli on World Public Services Day

23 June 2014

Monday June 23: World Public Services Day. All around the world governments are attacking public services and the workers who help supply them. As well, a number of international trade agreements are jeopardizing the right of governments to provide public services instead of corporations.

Wikileaks confirms TISA alarm raised by PSI

19 June 2014

For immediate release – 19 June 2014 - Wikileaks release today confirms alarm raised by Public Services International:

Wikileaks today released secret draft text from the Trades in Services Agreement negotiations that confirms the concerns first raised by the global trade union Public Services International in the recent ground-breaking report ‘TISA versus Public Services'.

PSI in the News - TISA

19 June 2014

PSI's campaign against the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) received news coverage from around the world.

TISA- commodifying public services?

11 June 2014

In-depth news report from RCI Radio Canada International. The reporter Marc Montgomery had read about our TISA report in a German newspaper and gave writer Scott Sinclair a call.

Anti-TISA demonstration, Geneva, 28 April 2014

26 May 2014

On 28 April 2014, Public Services International, together with Swiss trade unions and civil society organisations, held a demonstration in front of the Australian mission in Geneva.

Photos: Anti-TISA demonstration in Geneva

06 May 2014
On 28 April 2014, Public Services International, together with Swiss trade unions and civil society organisations, held a demonstration in front of the Australian mission in Geneva. The Australian mission was the venue of the secret negotiations for the TISA (Trade in Services Agreement) which governments are pushing and which will make it easier for big multinational companies to take over vital public services, such as health care and education, which you and your family rely on. For more information see our website: www.world-psi.org/TISA. #StopTISA
Source: Flickr

On 28 April 2014, Public Services International, together with Swiss trade unions and civil society organisations, held a demonstration in front of the Australian mission in Geneva. The Australian mission was the venue of the secret negotiations for the TISA (Trade in Services Agreement) which governments are pushing and which will make it easier for big multinational companies to take over vital public services, such as health care and education, which you and your family rely on. For more information: see our web pages