Trade unions engaged with policymakers on the unequal distribution of trade benefits at the OECD workshop on trade and jobs, held on 15th October. TUAC representatives called for stronger protections for workers during the event, which explored the critical relationship between trade policies, employment quality, and labour market institutions.
Workshop discussions highlighted evidence that globalisation has not delivered equally shared benefits, pointing to impacts on wages, job quality, and employment security. Speakers noted that countries with comprehensive collective bargaining frameworks tend to achieve higher productivity and more inclusive outcomes, while those with strong coordination systems often show greater resilience to economic shocks.
AFL-CIO representative Eric Gottwald advocated for strong labour law frameworks and robust trade union movements as key elements for ensuring trade benefits are widely shared, pointing out how certain trade policies have undermined workers’ power across OECD economies. This perspective was reinforced by TUC economist Geoff Tily, Chair of the TUAC Working Group on Economic Policy, who stressed the importance of boosting domestic demand for balanced trade outcomes, suggesting that higher wages and worker power create conditions for sustainable trade.
Building on these discussions, TUAC highlights that persistent global trade imbalances reflect domestic economic dysfunctions and the shift of resources from wages to profits. TUAC points out how countries competing to lower wages to boost export competitiveness ultimately face staggering domestic demand, falling labour share of income, and declining real wages for workers worldwide.
"In a global and interconnected world, effective international labour standards are essential to ensure fair outcomes for workers across different countries. We need a system and set of rules in which countries and companies prioritise high standards in wages, labour and human rights, rather than competing on minimum protections.”
TUAC calls for the OECD to examine how open trade and capital markets have eroded workers’ bargaining power, urging comprehensive research into these impacts while advocating for an international framework that prevents destructive wage competition between nations and promotes social dialogue as a tool for ensuring fair distribution of trade benefits.
