EU agrees proposals for WTO meeting

AFTER dodging the issue for many months, the European Commission has finally come down in favour of combining talks on world trade with attempts to set minimum labour standards among trading partners.

The controversial proposal, strongly supported by human rights organisations, has been the source of bitter recriminations, with many developing countries and semi developed countries accusing the EU of using the issue as a form of protectionism. European trade unions complain of what they call social dumping bye developing countries.

The Commission yesterday agreed, on the proposal of the Social Affairs and Trade Commissioners, Mr Padraig Flynn and Sir Leon Brittan, to ask EU ministers to seek the establishment of a working committee on the issue at the key World Trade Organisation ministerial meeting in Singapore in December.

The move, Commission sources say, reflects a significant concession by Sir Leon to Mr Flynn. The former has insisted repeatedly that the EU must remain committed to free trade and, in doing so, must accept that wages and conditions will be more competitive in developing countries.

Mr Flynn, however, won the argument by insisting that the proposed committee should only be concerned with labour standards when they are in violation of fundamental human rights. As a result, the talks would consider issues such as freedom of association, the prohibition of forced labour and slavery, non discrimination in employment, and the elimination of child labour - all issues clearly covered by ILO conventions.

A statement from the Commission made clear that "there is no question of imposing on developing countries the higher wage levels and working conditions of industrialised countries".

Mr Flynn yesterday welcomed the move as an important step and said it was crucial to set up a forum in which the standards to be applied would be decided, not just by the west, but in consultation with developing countries. The approach represented the best way to reduce reciprocal accusations of social dumping and protectionism, he said.

The proposal will go to the meeting of EU trade ministers in Dublin in mid September, which will prepare the EU mandate for the WTO conference.