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THE Trades Union Congress (TUC) and its US counterpart AFL-CIO joined forces today to urge Downing Street and the White House to put workers’ jobs and rights first in any trade deal.
The TUC and the AFL-CIO collectively represent 18 million workers in Britain and in the US.
They are demanding that PM Boris Johnson’s negotiating teams consult with them before beginning trade talks with the US.
AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka said that workers on “both sides of the Atlantic” are calling for a trade deal that creates jobs, raises wages and guarantees workers’ rights to organise trade unions.
He added: “US and UK unions demand fair trade and will vigorously oppose any deal that seeks to promote the narrow interests of multinational corporations over those of working people.”
The TUC has warned the government that, because US and EU standards diverge so dramatically, a trade deal that locks Britain into US-style regulations could prevent the government from negotiating the strongest possible relationship with the EU.
A joint statement from both organisations calls for “enforceable commitments to respect International Labour Organisation core conventions … including the right to take industrial action and the right to collective bargaining.”
A series of key requirements demanded by the TUC and AFL-CIO state that all public services, including the NHS, transport, and education, should be excluded from the post-Brexit UK-US deal.
TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “A decent deal with the EU must be the government’s priority – not selling off our NHS to Donald Trump.
“Boris Johnson shouldn’t be rushing into talks with the US to make a political point.
“A bad trade deal with the US will put working people’s jobs and rights on the line and undermine our vital public services, environment and food standards.”
The list of 13 requirements includes a demand for the exclusion of secret corporate courts that allow foreign investors to sue governments for actions that threaten their profits, such as Investor-State Dispute Settlement or the Investment Court System.
The TUC represents more than 5.5 million working people in 48 affiliated unions. The AFL-CIO represents around 12.5m workers in 55 national and international unions.
