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No Trade in Public Services

The recent wave of trade agreements are direct threats to the provision of Quality Public Services. These new agreements encourage privatisation, restrict governments’ ability to regulate in the public interest and create new and powerful rights for large multinational corporations. They are also a threat to democracy and accountability of government. They are being negotiated in secret, without proper consultation and will bind future governments, often regardless of the decisions of national elections, parliaments and courts. PSI urges all affiliates to understand the implications and join our allies to oppose the harmful effects of these agreements.

Presentations: Global Trade in Services Forum

18 October 2014

PSI’s Global Trade in Services Forum, From GATS to TISA, held in partnership with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) and the Our World Is Not For Sale (OWINFS) network, held on 17 October 2014 in Geneva, Switzerland, is the first ever global conference to provide a critical perspective on the TISA.

Open TISA to public debate, say experts at first global forum

17 October 2014
Global Trade in Services Forum

From education to transport, from finance to health. The new Trade In Services Agreement (TISA) is posing serious threats to quality standards in various public sectors that affect the lives of citizens.

Video: Celeste Drake Trade & Globalization, AFL-CIO, USA

17 October 2014

"Agreement by agreement the policy space for governments is diminished then workers who live in democracies find out that their democracies can't be as responsive as they should be. [...] These kind of agreements cannot be made behind the workers backs, behind closed doors" says Celeste Drake, keynote speaker at PSI’s Global Trade in Services Forum, From GATS to TISA, held in partnership with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) and the Our World Is Not For Sale (OWINFS) network.

Video: Ellen Gould - Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

17 October 2014

Ellen Gould, keynote speaker at PSI’s Global Trade in Services Forum, From GATS to TISA, held in partnership with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) and the Our World Is Not For Sale (OWINFS) network. Ellen Gould is the author of the Special Report "The Really Good Friends of Transnational Corporations Agreement" which focuses on how TISA could be used to accomplish the deregulatory agenda.

Video: Tony Salvador, Lawyer, IDEALS, Philippines

17 October 2014

"Migrant workers should be protected by the labour laws of host countries, with TISA they run the risk of being considered as independent service providers, no longer covered by labour laws" says Tony Salvador, keynote speaker PSI’s Global Trade in Services Forum, From GATS to TISA, held in partnership with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) and the Our World Is Not For Sale (OWINFS) network.

Video: Herta Däubler-Gmelin, Professor of law, former member of Parliament and Minister of Justice, Germany

17 October 2014

'It is important to consult not only European parliamentarians but also national parliamentarians" says Herta Däubler-Gmelin, keynote speaker at PSI’s Global Trade in Services Forum, From GATS to TISA, held in partnership with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) and the Our World Is Not For Sale (OWINFS) network.

PSI Global Trade in Services forum

17 October 2014

PSI’s Global Trade in Services Forum, From GATS to TISA, held in partnership with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) and the Our World Is Not For Sale (OWINFS) network, is the first ever global conference to provide a critical perspective on the TISA.

It will bring together leading global experts, trade unions from the public and private sector, civil society and government representatives from around the world to share information about the TISA. They will discuss the threats posed to public services, democracy and workers, and plan action to oppose its harmful elements.

Video: Jane Kelsey - Professor of law, University of Auckland, New Zealand

17 October 2014

"Governments should be held accountable to promote the interests of their people ahead of the interests of powerful commercial interests", says Jane Kelsey, keynote speaker at PSI’s Global Trade in Services Forum, From GATS to TISA, held in partnership with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) and the Our World Is Not For Sale (OWINFS) network.

Wages, social affairs and the environment under attack

13 October 2014

What lurks behind the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)?

Trade: the fight against corporate power gathers momentum

10 October 2014

Not noted for its radical views the Economist this week acknowledges that the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms, that unions and civil society have campaigned against for so long, is being abused by multinational corporations. Noting the scandalous conflicts of interest in the private dispute courts it questions whether the clauses are even effective in attracting foreign investment citing the case of Brazil “which continues to receive lots of foreign investment, despite its long-standing refusal to sign any treaty with an ISDS mechanism.

Global unions stand together against the Trade in Services Agreement

02 October 2014

“Trade matters to everyone because the rules affecting services intrude into every area of our life.” said Daniel Bertossa, PSI Director of Policy & Governance at the WTO Public Forum in Geneva, on Wednesday 1st October 2014. “The Trade in Services Agreement will deregulate financial services, liberalise the public sector and restrict democracy in our countries", continues Bertossa.

Audio: RadioLabour report on the Global Trade Summit

19 September 2014

Public services unions worldwide are determined to open to public scrutiny a new wave of global trade agreements, which are now being discussed behind closed doors. Listen to the RadioLabour report on PSI's Global Trade Summit.

Public services unions open new trade agreements to public debate

16 September 2014

#psiglobaltradesummit 2014 Washington, D.C., Tuesday 16 September 2014 - Public services unions worldwide are determined to open to public scrutiny a new wave of global trade agreements, which are now being discussed behind closed doors.

New Trade Deal—TISA—Could Undermine Safety, Environmental, Workers’ Rights Regs

11 September 2014

AFL-CIO - The United States is currently negotiating a new International Services Agreement called the Trade in Services Agreement, or TISA. At the start of 2012, a number of World Trade Organization (WTO) member states, including the European Union, formed a group called the “Really Good Friends of Services” or RGF (and yes, that is really what they named themselves), with the purpose of drafting a trade agreement that would further liberalize trade and investment in services and expand regulatory disciplines on services sectors.

Audio: Globe Trade Agreements for Corporations

04 September 2014

RadioLabour has prepared a special report on the global trade agreements: What they are and how they will affect working people.