DITOR Trade deals threaten our democratic society f the Canadian public were allowed to vote on a North American Free Trade deal it would over- whelmingly say no deal. If we were allowed a vote _ on whether or not we want to continue the free « trade agreement with the United States, Canadi- ans would say no as well. That’s - if we had a vote on these specific issues. But respect of our democratic rights has nothing to do with the powers behind these trade agreements. The forces behind NAFTA and the FTA are held in the undemocratic political clout that trans-national corporations have obtained. These agreements have more to do with powerful geopolitical influences than with democratic rights of people living in so called democratic societies. At a global labour conference held in Vancouver in early June (see page six) the B.C. Federation of Labour, the Oregon AFL-CIO, and the Washington State Labour Council AFL-CIO made a joint state- ment, which in part reads as follows: “The global trading relationships such as the exist- ing Canada-U.S. FTA and the proposed Canada-U.S., Mexico - NAFTA, are primarily political documents. It is not surprising that these documents have been nego- tiated ereee) closed doors without any public knowl- edge or debate. We believe that the primary purpose of these agree- ments has been to eliminate the national boundaries, rules and regulations of democratically elected govern- ments so that capital can move without obstruction in search of the highest rate of return. The trade agree- ments pit workers against workers because of the search for the lowest common denominator and the highest rate of return to capital. The freedom of capital is based on the increasing ex- ploitation of our physical environment and our na- tion’s peoples. The results are increased unemployment, lower wages, deterioration of working conditions, de-unionization, the destruction of social- programs and an attack on our physical environment. But the most serious root issue has been the attack on our democratic right to determine the kind of soci- ety, nation, and world, that we want.” Under the FTA and the upcoming NAFTA, we will continue to lose the ability to democratically regulate transnational corporations. If we don’t kneel before the transnationals then they will abandon Canada at an even faster rate. The legislative powers of parliaments will be sub- sumed by articles in the free trade agreements. Elect- ed Canadian politicians will no longer be able to pass legislation that will control foreign takeovers of our industries or resources. We will no longer be able to democratically regulate the development of our economy in a fashion which conflicts with provisions of the trade agreements. Un- der free trade, deregulation of existing legislation and harmonization of standards (i.e. transport, technical, and safety) will abolish the abilities of our our democ- ratic legislators to pass laws to protect us. If these dangerous agreements are perpetuated our democratically elected government will eventually lose all its power to protect our culture, our resources, and our environment. And with those losses will come the eradication of the working conditions that orga- nized labour has fought for. These trade agreements are the truest essence of non-democratic actions against the pecole of Canada, the United States and Mexico. The Canadian people don’t want them, the agreements are being played down by both the Republicans and Democrats during the US. elections, and Mexico has never had an pon- est election in its history. LUIMBERU/ORKER Official publication of IWA-CANADA MAN GERRY STONEY . . President Nor a eaROA NEIL MENARD ., Ist Vice-President FRED MIRON . . 2nd Vice-President WARREN ULLEY , . 3rd Vice-President 5th Floor, HARVEY ARCAND . . 4th Vice-President 1285 W. Pender Street TERRY SMITH . . Secretary-Treasurer Vancouver, B.C. VGE 4B2 BROADWAY °=2 PRINTERS LTD. WASN'T NAFTA SUPPOSED TO STEM THE TIDE OF ILLEGAL ALIENS ? U.S-MEXICO BORDER, 1299 $l, BUT THOSE CANADIANS ARE A PRETTY DESPERATE BUNCH! “yy Z GG i ((EGST OMS Vii IENVENIDO A Fi EXICObDYizz& WHE: mm. CU: s YU. Yj vt Zz) IRICGE9R North American labour movement should examine European Social Charter closely As we crawl inevitably closer to a North American Free Trade Agreement based on worker exploita- tion and environmental ruin, labour critics are re- peatedly calling for a char- ter of rights for labour to be included in any such agree- ment. Time and time again the European Social Char- ter is being held up as a mythical model to come to the rescue of North Ameri- can workers who will be cast into a cruel dog eat dog world of no-holds-barred economic development, and survival of the fittest. During the final stages of NAFTA talks, the govern- ments of United States, Mexico and Canada are mercilessly ignoring the calls of the labour and coali- tion movement to include some fundamental rights for workers. In North America the deal is being sold for its so called economic benefits. In Eu- rope, members and govern- ments of the European Economic Community (EEC) realized as early as 1974 that greater economic integration could not be sold to the European public without some sort of social action program which would include at least some condi- tions for full and better em- ployment and improvement of living and working condi- tion. The EEC began in 1957 with 6 member nations in the signing of the Treaty of Rome. The nations of Ger- many, Italy, France, Bel- gium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg agreed by 1968 to decrease customs and re- move some quotas on the way to liberalized trading arrangements. In 1973 the UK, Finland and Denmark joined the EEC. In 1981 Greece en- tered and in 1986 Portugal and Spain completed the EEC that now exists. Hacaucs Delors, president of the European Community Commission realized that there had to be some social standards included and that a trade pact couldn’t be sold to politically mature Euro- peans without the inclusion of some social protection. The entry of Spain and Portugal brought in low wage countries and an in- crease in Chinese and African immigrants in areas of Europe necessitated some action to protect working and living standards for the EEC at large. In 1987 a Social Charter concept was adopted along with efforts to liberalize markets. At the same time the European Trade Union Confederation put out its own charter of rights built North American workers need a unified voice to push for a social agenda in trade . agreements on U.N. Resolutions and ILO resolutions. European labour was pushing for en- forceable rights that bound EEC members to a social charter. In October of 1989 the European Council of Minis- ters, with the exception of Margaret Thatcher’s U.K., voted for a weaker social charter which nonetheless included the following col- leagues of social rights: free- dom of movement of workers, employment and enumeration, social protec- tion, vocational training, equal treatment for men and women, health and safety protection, freedom of association and collective bargaining, improvement of living and working condi- tions, protection of children and adolescents, protection of elderly persons, and pro- tection of disabled persons. Although the European Social Charter is non-biding and has been boycotted by the UK it is still heads and tails above the zero protec- tion offered to workers by the Mulroney, Bush or Sali- nas government. Although the non-biding nature of the Social Charter was seen as a defeat by the European trade union movement some progress is being made. In some of the countries new national health and safety laws are covering sectors of workers that_were previously left out. Some progress has also been made in the equal treatment of men and women, vocational training, and freedom of movement. So even though the UK has opted out, workers in other EEC countries are benefitting to some extent by the presence of the Euro- pean Social Charter. The past and future expe- riences of workers within the European Trade Union Confederation should hold many lessons for North American Trade Unions. Most of all we can learn that as labour movements, we need a unified interna- tional voice to speak out for some essential social rights. We need to push for a social dimension in global econom- ic development and that is a long term project that needs a strategy. Working people in North America must be provided some concrete protections against losing the gains of decades of struggle. Work- ers with better wages and conditions must be safe- guarded while workers in oppressed regions must have their collective rights brought up to civilized stan- dards. The labour movements of Canada and the United States must join with their counterparts in the re- pressed democratic union movement of Mexico to mili- tantly voice the needs of workers. Without a united voice, labour’s voice will be buried by the corporate me- dia in all three countries. LUMBERWORKER/ AUGUST, 1992/5