The impact of trade and investment on jobs and development

TUAC Breakfast meeting, 13 March 2019

8.30 am – 9.30 am

Room CC7, OECD Conference Centre

Coffee will be served from 8.15 am.

Please register at tuac@tuac.org before 6 March 2019.

Overview and aim of the seminar

Multilateralism is a precious, yet vulnerable public good. Over the past decades, the economic dimension of multilateralism, aiming at trade, investment and financial liberalisation has dominated global policy-making. Meanwhile, social and employment issues are relegated to the domestic policy space, a space that in turn is subordinated to international ‘free-market’ based agreements and disciplines. Today, this type of multilateralism is in a crisis of confidence. It has resulted in an economic model that has given rise to greater inequality, to shrinking middle class, to a “low growth” trap and in return, to popular backlash against the current form of globalisation and it multilateral institutions.

The objective of this breakfast meeting is to engage a discussion between the OECD and the labour movement on what trade and investment entail in terms of danger and opportunities.

This event comes at a time when both the Investment Committee and the Committee on Trade are starting to collect data on the societal and labour market impact of trade and investment. To be meaningful, such analysis should look beyond the broad number of jobs and also take into account of wages, working conditions, job and employment security, adaptation of skills – all of which are changed by the effects of trade and investment liberalisation.

Such qualitative analysis will lead to an in-depth reflection on how to rebalance business interests in trade and investment agreements with human rights and labour standards, as well as the right for governments to regulate and defend against unfair competition.

Final programme

Panel moderated by Séverine Picard, Senior Policy Advisor, TUAC

Speakers:

• Augustin Bourguignat, Confederal Secretary, CFDT
• Daniele Basso, Trade & Investment Advisor, ETUC