This International Human Rights Day, we’re urging the Office of the United States Trade Representative to strengthen migrant worker protections in the United States, Mexico, Canada Agreement (USMCA).
Today, as the Labor Council celebrated its third meeting with private and public sessions on the implementation of the USMCA labor chapter, CDM urged all three governments to maintain the Labor Chapter and expand protections within guestworker programs, while increasing accountability for themselves and employers across the region.
Last week I testified on behalf of Migration that Works before the US Trade Representative during the USMCA hearings. In my testimony, I underscored the need for the US to bring its laws into compliance with its obligations under the treaty by eliminating discriminatory provisions. I also highlighted the need to reform the agreement to ensure equal applicability of the labor provisions to violations of migrant workers’ rights in the United States. Isabelle Holt, CDM’s legal fellow, and Adriana Barberena, a TN worker from the Comité de Defensa del Migrante, also provided expert testimony.
Read some of our recommendations on how to strengthen migrant worker rights under the USMCA here.
When the USMCA was negotiated we celebrated the inclusion of the Labor Chapter, which brought the parties labor obligations from a side accord into the core of the agreement.
However, the treaty’s impact on migrant workers’ rights has been underwhelming. A complaint brought by migrant worker women with CDM’s support resulted in some positive changes, but remains unresolved after more than four years.
Trade agreements can be tools for collective economic growth and shared prosperity. But they must also serve to expand human and labor rights, improve working conditions and to elevate labor standards for all.
