Globalisation
WTO: Talks end amid mass arrests of protestors by police The WTO Talks ended on Sunday night with a compromise deal that was intended to salvage what little could be saved from the talks.
The final deal clearly highlights the obvious fact that the Doha round has been less about development and more about PR and broken promises.
The ICFTU issued the following press release after the close of talks.
DEJA VU: Development betrayed again at the WTO
The flawed deal agreed at the WTO Ministerial today is another blow to employment and sustainable development and ignores the urgent need to improve the lives of working people, according to the world trade union body, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and the NGO alliance SOLIDAR.
Speaking on behalf of 145 million workers, Guy Ryder, the General Secretary of the ICFTU said today:
“They did it again. Despite the unprecedented unity of developing countries, despite millions of people calling on them to deliver trade justice, despite the very recent crisis in world textiles trade, the industrialised countries have manipulated their way to a deal that betrays development and yet again does not address the key issue of decent work.”
“The WTO's members appear determined to make the WTO more unpopular than it already is. This deal will do nothing to dispel the fears that people hold about globalisation or the image of the WTO as a club for the rich and powerful. In continuing to ignore the voices of civil society, the WTO is putting the multilateral trading system at risk.”
“Although developing countries have endorsed this text, its consequences will be severe. They are going to be put under extreme pressure to open up their public services to the ravages of the free market, due to the Pandora's Box the GATS text has just unleashed. How can we have a world trade system that can force people in the developing world into having to choose between going to the doctor or putting food on the table?”
“We may have lost this fight but we have not lost the battle. Trade unions and NGOs will continue to argue for a genuinely multilateral trading system with a social and labour dimension that is linked in with other global institutions such as the ILO and the UN.”
Giampiero Alhadeff, the Secretary General of SOLIDAR commented:
“Any pretence that the Doha negotiations were about ending poverty have been laid to rest in Hong Kong. The end date for agricultural subsidies of 2013 is poor consolation for developing countries whose workers will be the victims of the mass unemployment that will inevitably result from the NAMA deal just agreed on industrial goods.
“For years we've been witnessing the havoc indiscriminate liberalisation wreaks on people's lives. Just look at this year's crisis in the textiles sector. But our calls for something as sensible as prior employment impact assessments and respect for workers' rights have fallen on deaf ears.
“The deal on cotton beggars belief. The US media machine will claim that they have offered major concessions but the reality is that the livelihoods of millions of people in Africa are on the line.
“Even the aid for trade package is a mirage. Of the EU's pledged 2 billion euros, only 250 million euros constitutes new money.
“There has been a fundamental failure here – we are going in the wrong direction. Until the WTO starts to put people first, globalisation will not give us the world we want with decent work and a decent life for everybody.”
In the meantime some 900 people had been detained for their part in protests on the 5 th day of the WTO. Police used tear gas as some 150 people (including police) were injured amid reports of excessive police force.
The ICFTU issued the following press release along with many other groups calling for the release of the protestors.
ICFTU calls on Hong Kong authorities to release detained protesters
The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions today joined its affiliate the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) in calling on the government authorities of Hong Kong to release the protesters they detained at yesterday's demonstration against the WTO.
The ICFTU condemned any violation of the prisoners' human and civil rights, including alleged mistreatment at the hands of the police.
The ICFTU does not condone any violence used during the demonstration, be it from protesters or police.
The social conditions in Korea, where imports have displaced local farm products causing an increase in poverty and unemployment, have led to the anger that has fuelled the protests, according to the ICFTU.
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The ICFTU's website Workers' Voice @ WTO gives updates of trade union movement activities and responses to the WTOMC6 meeting:
http://www.workersvoiceatwto.org/
For more details on the WTO talks and protests please see:
http://hkpa.does.it/
http://www.targetwto.revolt.org
19 December 2005
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