Trade Unions from across the globe meet to discuss about the new wave of trade agreements

(17 September 2014) Public services unions worldwide are determined to open to public scrutiny a new wave of global trade agreements, which are now being discussed behind closed doors.

Public Services International (PSI) organised a Global Trade Summit 2014, in Washington, D.C., where union leaders from all over the world discussed with the media the growing concerns about the effects of public service trade policies.

Unions from across the globle, including EPSU and several of its affiliates view these trade agreements as far more than trade so does PSI General Secretary Rosa Pavanelli.

There is a growing view that with these new trade agreements they enshrine the power of corporations in ways only loosely related to trade. They lock in liberalisation, promote privatisation, and restrict governments' right to regulate. The global financial crisis made clear the catastrophic results of failing to adequately regulate the financial markets.

During the summit, PSI released a new research document about the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA), "The really good friends of transnational corporations agreements" (see attached).

The report aims to show the regulatory system behind the new agreement, that imposes irreversible deregulation in various sectors, from healthcare to education, from financial services to data and communication (the report will shortly be published in French, German and Spanish).