The ETUC is calling for the Council of the EU and European Parliament to reject the EU-MERCOSUR trade and investment agreement in its current form due to concerns over weak labour protections.
While the deal offers new opportunities for employment creation and cooperation between Europe and South America, trade unions continue to have concerns. The lack of transparency and democratic legitimacy in these negotiations has added to those concerns.
We understand that the Trade and Sustainable Development chapter of the agreement is non-binding and lacks strong enforcement mechanisms. While the Commission's own impact assessment indicates it would only result in a net growth of 0.1% of GDP in the EU’s economy, the agreement continues to lack a robust mechanism to rule out violations of workers' rights, including through sanctions, which is regrettable.
In addition, EU proposed tools to protect the livelihoods of the people who work in sectors that are set to lose out in this trade agreement are inadequate. As EFFAT - the European federation of food workers’ unions – has warned, the deal could lead to “social dumping” and unfair competition that would drive down the working conditions in the EU, notably for the 6 million people who work in the agricultural sector.
ETUC Deputy General Secretary Claes-Mikael Stahl said:
"We need the mechanisms to ensure that our hard-won working conditions are upheld.
"That means giving labour clauses real teeth so that workers and their unions, both here but also in partner countries, can hold powerful corporations to account.
"It is not acceptable that any group of working people in Europe are thrown under the bus for a trade deal. Enforceable labour clauses with sanctions are the protection workers need to ensure the gains and losses form this deal are evenly distributed."
