Trade, Worker Rights and Development: Opportunities and Challenges for Inter-Institutional Cooperation
On November 12, the American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL) hosted the Symposium, “International Trade, Worker Right, and Development: New Partnerships for the Future of Work,” which was organized in partnership with Texas A&M University’s Bush School of Government and Public Service. The symposium hosted leaders from the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Labor Organization (ILO), and the World Bank to discuss future partnerships and engagement between trade and labor.
One of the highlights of the Symposium was AUWCL Professor Padideh Ala’i moderating a round table with Marc Bacchetta, the Chief of Economic Modeling and Quantitative Assessment Section of the WTO’s Economic Research and Statistics Division; Karen Curtis, Chief of the Freedom of Association Branch of the ILO’s International Labor Standards Department; and Federica Saliola, Co-Director of the World Bank’s World Development Report of the Future of Work. The discussion was about the role of the organizations in the cross-cutting issues between trade, workers’ rights and development, as well as the collaborative work developed by the organizations on these matters, and the possibilities of improving this engagement.
Marc Bacchetta explained that the terms of collaboration between the WTO and the ILO were defined at the first WTO Ministerial Conference in Singapore in December 1996. He said that currently the WTO’s councils and committees are not working on labor standards, but that the Organizations have at least done some joint technical work and publications. He also mentioned that the WTO agreements do not deal with labor standards as such, and that the relationship between WTO disciplines and labor standards has not yet been explored.
Karen Curtis focused on four key points: social justice, synergies, collaboration, and coherence for a human-centered future. According to the panelist, the Centenary Declaration of the ILO recognizes the importance of trade policies that promote decent work and enhance productivity. The ILO is a tripartite organization with representatives from States, workers, and businesses. This explains why the policies generated within ILO reflects best practices for genuinely sustainable enterprises, for productivity and that allow for a global outreach.
Lastly, Federica Saliola from the World Bank emphasized that the Bank collaborates extensively with the ILO and the WTO. She explained the current thematic priorities for the World Bank and demonstrated that research has shown that more and more labor markets are becoming globally relevant. She also mentioned a new initiative recently launched at the Bank, called Supporting Effective Job Lending at Scale.
Professor Ala’i observed that this historic event that brought together leaders from the three big international organizations working on trade and labor was the beginning of more conversations and institutional collaboration in the trade, workers’ rights, and development areas.