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<!--StartFragment--><p class="MsoNormal">Long way of saying labor standards don’t enforce themselves…….</p><div class=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; line-height: normal; border-spacing: 0px;"><div class="">Stan Sorscher</div><div class=""><a href="mailto:stans@speea.org" class="">stans@speea.org</a></div><div class="">206 255 4393</div><div class=""><br class=""></div></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><br class=""></p><p class="MsoNormal">DAILY NEWS<o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b class=""><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-fareast-language:JA" class="">Ex-Mexican Official Says Labor
Reforms Linked To TPP Are Foundering<o:p class=""></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">September 22,
2016 </p><p class="MsoNormal">Mexican President
Enrique Pena Nieto has run out of the political capital he needs to push labor
reforms through his nation's legislature, according to former Mexican Foreign
Minister Jorge Castaneda, citing reforms that the U.S. Department of Labor called
for earlier this year to ensure compliance with labor provisions in the
Trans-Pacific Partnership.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Castaneda, speaking at
a Sept. 21 Hudson Institute event focused on relations between the U.S., Mexico
and Latin America, said he believes the Obama administration missed an
opportunity to do more to promote labor and human rights in Latin America
through TPP, especially by not requiring Mexico to have a labor action plan or
side letter.</p><p class="MsoNormal">With labor
reform <a href="http://insidetrade.com/node/154182" class=""><span style="color:#094EC0" class="">legislation proposed by Pena Nieto's</span></a> administration
earlier this year unlikely to move, and Mexico's adamant stance that labor and
human rights are not linked to trade deals, Castaneda said, the best option to
address reforms could be a scenario in which Democrat Hillary Clinton is
elected president, softens her stance against TPP and demands to renegotiate
human and labor rights with countries <a href="http://insidetrade.com/node/155389" class=""><span style="color:#094EC0" class="">like
Mexico and Peru</span></a>.<o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The U.S. did push
Mexico for labor reforms that would ensure the country can live up to its TPP
obligations, akin to the consistency plans it developed with Vietnam and
Malaysia that are backed by dispute settlement. The Mexican government rejected
that approach and insisted any reforms it undertakes will be for its own
reasons and independent of TPP.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">TPP member states
would have to accept that a mandatory labor action plan or side letter for
Mexico may mean that government refuses to ratify TPP, Castaneda said.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">“I'm in favor of
linking trade to labor, human and environmental rights in general,” Castaneda
said. “I am not sure I would oppose Hillary Clinton coming back to [TPP] and
saying 'Wait a second. You're not Vietnam, you're not Malaysia, but you're
certainly not Norway, you're not Chile and you're not Brazil.' Labor rights in
Mexico are not at the standards in those countries, let alone Western Europe,
and they are not at the standards of many nations in Latin America.”<o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""> </o:p>Pena Nieto's term ends
in 2018, and his administration's popularity is running low after a series of
public debacles, which complicates his efforts to move his labor reform
legislation, Castaneda said. Presidents only serve one term in Mexico.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""> </o:p>Pena Nieto's
administration suffered a wave of public criticism after <a href="http://insidetrade.com/node/154910" class=""><span style="color:#094EC0" class="">several
people were killed</span></a> when federal forces opened fire on teachers
protesting against mandatory testing in June. Pena Nieto also drew condemnation
for meeting with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, whose campaign
rhetoric on trade and immigration has drawn the ire of Mexican citizens and
lawmakers. Another controversy involves Pena Nieto and his wife's repeated use
of a luxury condo in Miami owned by a wealthy business man, which critics have
called a conflict of interest.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""> </o:p>Castaneda added not
all unions back the reforms, further complicating efforts to pass the
legislation as Mexico prepares for its own presidential election.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">“I don't see [Pena
Nieto] having the political capital to do that,” Castaneda said of the pending
labor reforms.<o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""> </o:p>Benjamin Davis,
international affairs director for the United Steel Workers union, told <i class="">Inside
U.S. Trade</i> that he's still optimistic the Mexican government can pass
the labor reforms, though he admitted the package faces a tough road since some
politicians voting on the measure have powerful ties to the current labor
system.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""> </o:p>The Mexican Congress
just got back from its summer break this week, and the nation's labor minister
has consistently been vocal on the need to pass Pena Nieto's labor reforms.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""> </o:p>While Pena Nieto is
not popular, he does have power over the budget and the executive branch, which
gives him leverage in rewarding political allies and enemies when it comes to
his labor legislation, Davis said. Pena Nieto also has nearly a year-and-a-half
left to push the package through Congress, giving him plenty of time to work
out a deal.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""> </o:p>The key question is
will reform opponents be able to water down the deal, Davis said.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">“Every politician has
things they want and in most systems, it's good if you have the leader of the
country on your side,” Pena Nieto said. “He may not be a popular guy, but he is
a powerful guy. It's probably more important for him to be powerful than
popular on something like this.”<o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""> </o:p>TPP obligates
countries to enforce their labor laws and that those laws must reflect the
principles endorsed by the International Labor Organization in the 1998
Declaration on the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. These principles
include the right to collectively bargain and the right of union members to
approve its contract with an employer.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""> </o:p>The Department of
Labor and labor groups have flagged problems regarding Mexico's ability to meet
its labor obligations in TPP. A recent Labor Department report urged Mexico to
adopt pending legislation ensuring the right to associate with unions, but
stopped short of finding any actual labor violations since the government was
never notified of the problems detailed in the complaint.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""> </o:p>The Labor Department
has also given Peru until December to make changes to its laws to ensure
compliance with the same labor provisions, which are also included in the
existing bilateral U.S.-Peru free trade agreement.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""> </o:p>Labor rights have also
been an issue under FTAs with Guatemala, Honduras and Colombia.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""> </o:p>Mexico's reforms
require a constitutional amendment, which needs a majority vote in the Senate
and Chamber of Deputies. It also requires a majority vote from the states. A
constitutional amendment is not as hard to pass in Mexico as it is in the
United States, Davis previously said.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""> </o:p>The constitutional
reforms would overhaul the labor justice system by doing away with Conciliation
and Arbitration Boards (CABs) currently handling labor disputes and shifting
their responsibility to federal and local labor courts, and the registration of
unions to a newly created Federal Public Administration. The reforms would also
set up local conciliatory centers to act as a preliminary venue for workers and
employers to handle a dispute, according to an informal translation of the
proposal. The preliminary stage would consist of one mandatory hearing, and
subsequent hearings would only be held if all parties mutually agree.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""> </o:p>Those local centers
would be decentralized and independent, a move meant to insulate them from
corruption concerns tied to CABs.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""> </o:p>The legislative reform
establishes requirements for registering collective bargaining agreements and
sets new timelines and rules for the labor law process and union voting.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""> </o:p>But the reforms only
partially address demands from labor groups to get rid of protection contracts,
which critics charge violate International Labor Organization principles. The
reforms do not expressly repeal protection contracts, as the U.S. had sought,
and instead give workers the right to review their contracts, sources have
said.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""> </o:p>The reforms would
guarantee employees' ability to exercise their freedom of association by
ensuring they have access to copies of drafted collective bargaining
agreements. -- <i class="">Nate Robson</i> (<a href="mailto:nrobson@iwpnews.com" class=""><span style="color:#094EC0" class="">nrobson@iwpnews.com</span></a>)</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""></o:p></p>
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