Malaysia opposes talks on labor rights at WTO

Malaysia opposes talks on labor rights at WTO

SINGAPORE (Reuter): Malaysia said yesterday there was "no way" it would let the World Trade Organization (WTO) get involved in the issue of workers rights.

International Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah Aziz told reporters Malaysia had no problem with the 128-member WTO studying other contentious issues like investment and competition policies or government procurement.

But, when asked if Kuala Lumpur would permit a similar WTO study on labor rights, she told reporters: "No, no, no way. There is no place for labor issues at the WTO."

"We don't want to get involved in any discussion or debate of the issue at the WTO," the blunt-talking Rafidah said.

Malaysia is one of several countries, mostly Asian, resisting what they see as a U.S.-driven push to get labor rights on to the WTO agenda and to use the organization's disputes court to erode the developing world's low-cost labor edge.

The United States, backed by France, Norway and the International Confederation of Free Trades Unions (ICFTU), has been pressing hard for the inclusion of the issue in a declaration to be issued at the end of the WTO's first ministerial conference.

Delegates say Washington has insisted the issue be included if it is to back the declaration when the conference ends on Friday.

The United States says the issue is one of human rights, of eliminating developing world sweat shops, child and slave labor and other forms of abuse of workers.

Rafidah said Malaysia supported such objectives, but that the WTO was the wrong place to tackle them.

"The WTO cannot be regarded as a multi-purpose organization that can be called upon to debate and address the range of social issues affecting members and the various social ills of the world," she said in a speech earlier.

"The WTO should focus on trade and on the promotion of world trade," she added.

Rafidah said the introduction of labor, investment and competition issues had dominated the meeting and diverted attention from the review of the existing WTO program.

"Everything is centered upon issues that shouldn't be there in the first place," she said.

Rafidah told reporters Malaysia would allow workers rights to be mentioned in the final declaration, provided it said the issue did not belong in the WTO and should be placed in the hands of the International Labor Organization (ILO), which was set up to deal with such subjects.

It was not clear whether there was any room for compromise between the United States and Malaysia on workers rights.

Ministers were due to hold further talks on the issue later in the day.

But diplomatic sources said the Malaysian proposal as it stood was unlikely to go far enough to satisfy U.S. envoys.