Russia to reshape trade liberalisation by ITGLWF

12 Dec '05

2 min read

International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers' Federation (ITGLWF) informed that negotiators piloting Russia to membership of the World Trade Organisation have a unique opportunity to redesign the direction of trade liberalisation, imbuing it with a social dimension.

Such a shift would not only benefit Russia, but would breathe new life into a current debilitating globalisation.

Speaking in Moscow, Neil Kearney, General Secretary of the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers' Federation (ITGLWF) said the Russian government should insist that the WTO outlaw the practice of global competitive advantage based on illegal labour practices including forced labour, child work, discrimination and the suppression of the right of workers to form trade unions and to bargain with their employers regarding wages and working conditions.

“Failure to do so”, he said, “would hobble Russian industry, especially the textile and clothing sector, and endanger its future from unchecked imports of goods made in illegally exploitative conditions”.

Mr. Kearney said that the current approach of the WTO was impoverishing workers, particularly those in traditional industries like textiles and clothing, and was destroying economies which upheld the observance of worker rights in the sector.

More than half a million Russian families depend on the textile and clothing industries for their livelihoods. WTO membership without a social component will rob many of that livelihood. It cannot be allowed to happen.

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