Unions NSW: Tear up FTA with China

Just last month, Tony Abbott signed a free trade deal with China that was negotiated in secret and, surprise surprise, it's not a good deal for workers. While Tony's business mates might have been a part of the negotiations, ordinary working people like us, were not.

Join our campaign to support workers and workplace rights by telling Tony Abbott to tear up the China Free Trade Agreement.

Our fight is not with foreign workers, it is with the Abbott Government and their business mates who benefit from this deal at the expense of workers.

This trade agreement that has been negotiated behind closed doors will allow:

• Chinese companies to bring in an entire workforce from overseas for projects worth over $150 million with as little as a 15% stake in that project and without even advertising for local workers first.
• It could cost as many as 158,000 local jobs because of cheap Chinese imports that are unfairly subsidised and do not meet Australian standards. Half of Australian businesses surveyed say the deal will hurt them and only 11% say it will help.
• The agreement will allow Chinese companies to sue Australian governments that pass laws which affect their profits. This is how Phillip Morris has been able to sue us for plain cigarette packaging laws that are saving lives.
• This trade deal has no commitments to respect workers’ rights. China is one of the ten worst places to be a worker according to the international trade union movement.

Read more about the China Australia Free Trade Agreement here.

This is not xenophobia as the government is claiming. All workers lose under this deal. Overseas workers risk being seriously exploited, local workers risk being shut out of jobs and all of our rights at work will be dragged down.

Not only this, but a “side letter” as part of the FTA, stipulates that mandatory skills tests will no longer be required for certain trades, specifically, electricians. This is not only taking away work from Australian sparkies, but potentially dangerous for all of us.

What makes it even more dodgy is the fact that this “side letter” didn’t surface until after the agreement was signed to avoid scrutiny.

We can stop laws being passed in our Parliament that will put the China Free Trade Agreement into effect. Sign the petition now.

In union,

The Unions NSW Team 

PS: Employment Minister Eric Abetz is quoted as saying: “...every unemployed worker should see this free trade agreement as a very real opportunity for them...”