What is being proposed?

What does it mean?

What is its impact?

What is the alternative?

Use labor standards in existing and proposed preferential trade programs – e.g. the Generalised System of Preferences program and programs under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, the Andean Trade Preference Act, the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act, and the Southeast Europe Trade Preference Act – to build respect for, adherence to, and enforcement of core labor standards.  

All bilateral and preferential trading arrangements will have elements of social clause  

Use of labour standards as a protectionist device

Labour standards is not a trade issue and should not be a part of any trade treaty

The issue is domestic and rich countries should assist low-income countries to progressively comply with core labour standards with economic growth, which may result from expansion in trade

Employ US Agency for International Development (USAID) and other assistance programs to encourage acceptance of, adherence to, and national enforcement of core labor standards.

Linking all types of US assistance and aid with labour standards

May escalate the practice of applying conditions while giving aid

Aid should be given exclusively for better compliance of labour standards

Urge the World Bank and other regional development banks to encourage borrowing countries to guarantee core labor standards and to collaborate in international efforts to reduce child labor. The multilateral and regional development banks also should try to ensure that in consultations on their country operations with civil, society, unions are represented.

Linking lending by multilateral developmental and financial institutions with labour standards

Adding social conditionalities over borrowing will be an additional burden for the economy of developing countries

Multilateral lending institutions and regional development banks should make poverty as their priority for assisting poor countries

Encourage the World Trade Organization (WTO) to cooperate with international financial institutions to examine the interrelationships between social issues and global economic integration, including labor standards and trade.

An indirect way of linking labour standards with trade

Once WTO is involved with other financial institutions in dealing with labour standards even in a lesser role, the next step would be to deal it exclusively on WTO forum

International Labour Organisation is the appropriate forum and it should cooperate with other financial institutions to facilitate better financial assistance for compliance of core labour standards 

Strengthen and raise the profile of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and provide strong support for ILO initiatives aimed at fostering member countries’ adherence to core labor standards, such as the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and the new Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labor.

Giving ILO more teeth and  authority to deal with the issue of core labour standards

ILO is the right forum but the concern would be, once it gets more teeth, industrialised countries may try to influence its decisions and functioning

The functioning of the ILO should be made more transparent and democratic for making the ILO conventions easier to comply

Strengthen and raise the profile of the ILO by improving the ILO’s ability to fact-find, spotlight and hold member countries accountable for violations of core labor standards by strengthening the ILO’s existing mechanisms for enforcing member countries’ adherence to the conventions they have ratified.

An alternative way of encouraging sanctions-based approach to adherence of core labour standards

Many countries may be forced to comply with ILO’s conventions, some of which may not be relevant for them

The ILO should develop a flexible, non-sanctions-based method of compliance with core labour standards

Encourage cooperative arrangements (joint work programs) between the WTO and the World Health Organization  and ILO.

Indirectly incorporate labour standards in WTO agenda 

It may result in WTO becoming more involved in discussing labour issues than WHO and ILO thus paving the way for linking trade with labour standards

WTO should in no way directly or indirectly involved in any such cooperative arrangement as it is loaded with too many agendas

Strengthen  ILO and its cooperation with other United Nations organisations to deal with labour issue

Use the labor standards adopted by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) to build respect for, and adherence to, core labor standards.

Alternative ways of putting conditions for attracting foreign direct investment

Shifting the emphasis on corporate social responsibility from one based to regulation to non-regulation

Revive the United Nations Code of Conduct on Transnational Corporations and make it mandatory for them to adhere to certain well-defined social responsibility to be monitored by the United Nations