OTTAWA, CANADA, April 25, 2001 :
LABOUR WAS one of the difficult issues considered by the Third Summit of the Americas and the 34 heads of government meeting in Quebec City have agreed to instruct their Labour Ministers to continue to study questions related to globalisation which affect employment and labour.
Labour Ministers are due to meet in Ottawa in October to ensure that they work co-operatively to implement labour standards in the hemisphere.
The Summit Declaration promised to promote compliance with internationally-recognised core labour standards as embodied in the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its Follow Up adopted in 1998. "We will consider the ratification of, or accession to, the fundamental agreements of the ILO, as appropriate," the Declaration said.
The question of how to address labour standards in the context of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) were unresolved leading up to the Summit. Latin American leaders indicated a willingness to co-operate on a labour agenda that complements trade negotiations, but most of them opposed linking it to the actual agreement for fear of stifling trade and investment instead of boosting economic growth. Some regard the approach to labour issues as a disguised way to protect declining industries in particular countries.
Labour and environment issues have been dealt with in past Summits as part of non-trade related baskets and until recently bilateral agreements treated them as side issues. The North American Free Trade Agreement between the USA, Canada and Mexico handled it as a separate side issue but the USA is apparently discussing labour provisions in the main text of an agreement with Chile, a pattern being encouraged.
Bruce Jay senior analyst of the Summit of Americas Centre (SOAC) in a newsletter published jointly with the Canadian Foundation for the Americas (FOCAL), pointed to the controversy which has dogged attempts to link international labour standards to trade expansion, in particular to open work markets on the condition of adherence to internationally-recognised worker rights. These include freedom of association and the right to bargain collectively, prohibitions on child and forced labour, and non-discriminatory practices in the workplace.
Lincoln Price, trade and investment policy officer of JAMPRO, wants to see certain details worked out in the final FTAA agreement. He told The Gleaner in an earlier interview, that international practice "does not necessarily work in favour of workers" and the FTAA seemed to be continuing this.
Illegal immigration concerns in some countries, he observed, have centred discussion in the past on "skilled" workers in a definition that excludes low value added workers who comprise the bulk of Jamaica's labour force where 60 per cent of Jamaican workers are so categorised.
Mr. Price suggested that illegal immigration concerns could be addressed without excluding low skilled persons. Immigration machinery in all countries was, he noted, moving to greater policing of movement across borders. "This is not to say that the issue (immigration) is less relevant, but things are being done to address the problem," he said.
He observed that nationally Jamaica has not developed a position on this although there was the experience of hotel, farm and cruise ship work programmes the last being unique as there were no borders in that programme. Trade in services is taking place even in the cruise ship industry so the market has moved beyond the ability to regulate it. "We therefore have to move to support it," he said.
The FTAA is expected to open up opportunities for professionals such as engineers, architects and medical doctors for example. However, Mr. Price pointed to the greater obstacles to such professionals who would be required to re-sit examinations for certification to practise overseas. Foreign technical assistance often tied Jamaica to using particular persons such as engineers on project. That "limits us. We're not exporting services in the same way," he said.
No Shortage
There was no shortage of engineers and doctors in the USA and the market demand is for lower skilled workers. With agriculture and manufacturing on the decline, Jamaica should be looking to have its surplus labour fill the demand elsewhere, Mr. Price said. "I think that's one of the strategies we should go for in the FTAA," he said. "Maybe we should ask for reciprocity," he said.
The JAMPRO officer also saw a potentially strong link between investment and services for Jamaica. Investment in local hotels being developed outside of Jamaica, which is taking the lead in services, could, as other foreign companies do, move with their core Jamaican workers.
Migration questions in the Summit process look towards encouraging programmes of co-operation in immigration, procedures for cross border labour markets and the migration of skilled workers. The Quebec City Summit recognised "the positive aspects and benefits of orderly migration in countries of origin, transit and destination as a factor contributing to economic growth and national and regional development," It declared support of co-operation in immigration procedures for cross-border labour markets and the migration of workers, both in countries of origin and destination, as a means to enhance economic growth in full cognisance of the role that co-operation in education and training can play in mitigating any adverse consequences of the movement of human capital from smaller and less developed states.
Labour organisations declined to cross the three-metre perimeter fence in Quebec City last week-end to accept an invitation to meet, along with other civil society groups, with Canadian and other regional foreign Ministers.
Nancy Hugues Anthony, chair and chief executive officer of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, shared the disappointment of Canadian officials interviewed in Ottawa this week, that the labour groups did not participate in the discussion. The Chamber's CEO said that several Canadian companies wanted expansion of trade but with consideration for certain dimensions such as the key areas of labour standards and the environment.
She said that Canadian companies want to ensure an environment for workers that was stable and reliable, and the Chamber felt the challenge was for some countries to work on labour standards as a national approach rather than as "a prescription in a trade agreement that takes a long time to sign."
By Donna Ortega
News Editor
