U.S.: Protect Labor Rights in CAFTA

(New York, May 1, 2003) Trade negotiators at the upcoming round on the U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) should take account of serious labor rights abuses in El Salvador, Human Rights Watch said today.  
 

U.S. negotiators should consider El Salvador's poor record before they table any proposals. They shouldn't just cut and paste weak labor rights language from other free-trade agreements. In a place like El Salvador, where labor laws and their enforcement are so deficient, that simply won't work. Carol Pier Labor Rights and Trade Researcher

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In a briefing paper released today, Human Rights Watch documents the weaknesses of El Salvador's labor law and the institutions charged with its enforcement, as well as serious infringements on workers' right to organize.  
 
At the May 12-16 CAFTA negotiations in Guatemala, U.S. trade negotiators reportedly may propose labor rights protections similar to those in the U.S. agreements with Chile and Singapore. But those are weak provisions that only require countries to enforce existing laws, even if those laws do not meet minimal international standards.  
 
"U.S. negotiators should consider El Salvador's poor record before they table any proposals," said Carol Pier, labor rights and trade researcher at Human Rights Watch. "They shouldn't just cut and paste weak labor rights language from other free-trade agreements. In a place like El Salvador, where labor laws and their enforcement are so deficient, that simply won't work."  
 
The Human Rights Watch briefing paper documents how the El Salvador Ministry of Labor violates its own inspection procedures, ignores the anti-union conduct of employers, and impedes workers' right to freedom of association. The ministry fails to uphold labor laws, which are riddled with loopholes that allow employers to violate labor rights with impunity.  
 
If workers turn to El Salvador's labor courts for relief, they face often insurmountable procedural obstacles. They also have no guarantee that judgments in their favor will be enforced.  
 
Human Rights Watch urges that CAFTA labor rights protections carry the same penalties as all other provisions in the agreement. CAFTA should require countries to enforce their own labor laws and to ensure that those laws meet international standards and are not lowered to attract trade and investment. Human Rights Watch also recommends that CAFTA include a transitional, phase-in period for tariff benefits, dependent on countries' progress toward protecting workers' human rights.  
 
Human Rights Watch is preparing a longer report on labor rights violations in El Salvador that elaborates on the preliminary findings in the briefing paper.