General Agreement on Trade in Services
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The CTU and affiliated unions are involved in a campaign to highlight the issues in the negotiation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). There are many important issues for unions including the protection of public services, a guarantee of the right of governments to regulate in the national interest, and recognition of Te Titiriti o Waitangi.
There were extensive commitments made in 1994 by NZ. The CTU supports the withdrawal of commitments made in education and cultural services (audio-visual commitments made by NZ effectively prevent the government implementing policies an a local content quota).
Ministerial meeting in Hong Kong: 13 - 19 Dec 2005
The World Trade Organisation ministerial meeting in Hong Kong has now concluded. Unions were represented at the meeting by CTU Economist Peter Conway. Read his media release at the conclusion of the talks here, and his earlier release on the role the New Zealand government was playing with regard to labour standards here.
The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (which the CTU is a member of) established a 'Workers Voice At The WTO' website at www.workersvoiceatwto.org for the Hong Kong meeting.
Arena Resources on Dec 2005 Ministerial Meeting
Arena have an information site on the ministerial meetings here. They also prepared a special bulletin on the World Trade Organisation and its Ministerial meeting planned for Hong Kong 13-19 December, written by Jane Kelsey, which is available for download PDF file (365 kb).
Jane Kelsey provided regular updates (with pictures) from Hong Kong to the Scoop news website. Click on the links below to read her updates.
Bulletin 1, 10 Dec
Bulletin 2, 12 Dec
Bulletin 3, 14 Dec
Bulletin 4, 15 Dec
Bulletin 5, 15 Dec
Bulletin 6, 16 Dec
Bulletin 7, 16 Dec
Bulletin 8, 17 Dec
Bulletin 9, 18 Dec
Earlier GATS Campaign Resources (2003)
GATS Leaflet: Union Concerns [pdf, 165kb]
Trade Negotiations and the Dairy Industry
Speeches to the New Zealand Dairyworkers' Union Congress June 17 2003
17 June 2003 [full story]
European GATS Demands Leaked
In the most significant leak since the Multilateral Agreement on Investment was exposed to public scrutiny in 1997 and eventually sunk, drafts of the European Union's 'requests' of other countries in the WTO services negotiations have just been posted on a European website (www.gatswatch.org).
20 April 2003 [full story]
AUS Media Release, April 2, 2003
The Association of University Staff (AUS) today expressed concern that the New Zealand Government has failed to withdraw education entirely from the General Agreement of Trades in Services (GATS).
02 April 2003 [full story]
