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No Trade in Public Services

The recent wave of trade agreements are direct threats to the provision of Quality Public Services. These new agreements encourage privatisation, restrict governments’ ability to regulate in the public interest and create new and powerful rights for large multinational corporations. They are also a threat to democracy and accountability of government. They are being negotiated in secret, without proper consultation and will bind future governments, often regardless of the decisions of national elections, parliaments and courts. PSI urges all affiliates to understand the implications and join our allies to oppose the harmful effects of these agreements.

Wages, social affairs and the environment under attack

13 October 2014

What lurks behind the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)?

Trade: the fight against corporate power gathers momentum

10 October 2014

Not noted for its radical views the Economist this week acknowledges that the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms, that unions and civil society have campaigned against for so long, is being abused by multinational corporations. Noting the scandalous conflicts of interest in the private dispute courts it questions whether the clauses are even effective in attracting foreign investment citing the case of Brazil “which continues to receive lots of foreign investment, despite its long-standing refusal to sign any treaty with an ISDS mechanism.

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.