The Mercosur (Common Southern Market) has been instituted on 26th
March 1991 with an act subscribed by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and later (2014) by Venezuela.
Venezuela’s new membership was short-lived, however, since by the end of 2016 it had already been suspended by the four founding members of MERCOSUR. The official reason was Venezuela’s failure to adjust its domestic legislation to existing MERCOSUR law. However, deep ideological differences and doubts about Venezuela’s commitment to democracy and the protection of human rights seem to have been the real driving factors for the suspension. The other South American States have obtained the status of Associate Member (Chile in 1996, Bolivia in 1997, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela in 2005, and Peru in 2006) and have concluded free trade agreements with MERCOSUR (Free Trade Areas). Bolivia’s accession as a full member was signed in 2015 but still requires ratification at the time of writing (August 2018).
In the intentions of its founders, the Mercosur, as an instrument of economic cooperation among perticipating States, aspired to realize a system of free trade through the elimination of duties and restrictions to trade exchanges within the involved Countries; however, during the course of time, the original project has been widened to encompass also goals of coordination of macro-economic policies, the definition of a common trade policy and, most of all, a progressive juridical integration of the national orders of member States.
What interests us most is most of all the “Social-labour Declaration” elabourated in 1998 after a long and tormented process intended to the affirmation of a social and economic identity of the Mercosur and amended in 2015, by its own supervisory tripartite body – the Social and Labour Commission of the Mercosour – and, as a result, it was approved, as amended, in Brasilia, in June, 2015
The Declaration is a political act, so it lacks direct efficiency but, at the same time, it is to be considered a starting point for the development of a common and shared social policy within the Mercosur’s member States. It undoubtedly represents the outcome of big compromises among the opposed interests that lied within the Mercosur, but we should not underestimate its extent and effects on national labour markets. In the Declaration, there is specific reference to the workers’ fundamental rights
stated in the 1998 ILO’s Declaration and in the most important international Agreement on the matter 19. Therefore, within the
Declaration, we find specific reference to the protection of the principle of non-discrimination (art.1), the protection of migrant and trans-border workers (art.4), the prohibition of minor labour (art. 6), the prohibition of forced labour, the protection of health and security in the workplace, the freedom of association and of collective bargaining, the prohibition of discrimination by reason of Union membership and the right to strike. Again, the Declaration states the commitment of the States towards the issues of employment, of professional training, of services of sustain to employment. The 2015 amendement also ratifies the provisions regarding the elimination of forced labour and includes regulation on protection against dismissal, on the prevention and elimination of child labour and the protection of young workers, as well as any individual rights which had not been previously considered, such as provision governing the length of a working day, leave and holidays, and the right to a mimimun wage according to the national laws, which wage must be sufficient to meet the worker’s needs and those of his/her family20.
With reference to the instruments of implementation of the Declaration and of its principles, the parties have provided for the constitution of a specific Comision Socio Laboral, with mainly advisory functions, and therefore non-sanctionatory, composed of the representatives of governments, of Union organizations and of employers. Even though facing difficulties, the Commission has carried out an important role in order to implement the Declaration, by supporting the action of governments in the direction of an economic as well as social integration.
4.3.1. EU - Mercosur FTA.
The EU is negotiating a trade deal with the four founding Mercosur States - Argentina, Brazil Paraguay and Uruguay, as part of a broader Association Agreement between the two regions.
Negotiations started on 1999, but they stopped due to the Argentina’s crisis on 2001 and were suspended until 2010, to restart after the protectionist policies started by Mr. President Trump and the appartently stop to the TTIP negotiations: the EU would like to find new ways to expand its market: The current negotiations cover issues that include tariffs, rules
19 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1966 International Covenant on Political and
Civil Rights, 1966 International Covenant on economic, social and cultural rights, 1988 American Convention on human rights and on economic, social, cultural rights.
20 Goldin A., The MERCOSUR (Southern Common Market): Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay,
Uruguay and Venezuela, in Perulli A., Treu T. (eds), Sustainable Development, Global Trade and Social Rights, Kluwer International, 2018, pp. 41 ss.
of origin, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, services, government procurement, intellectual property, sustainable development and small- and medium-sized enterprises. The final text of the agreement is expected by the end of 2018, even if the last round of negotations (the EU and Mercosur negotiating teams met in Montevideo, Uruguay, from 4th to 8th June 2018 for a round of negotiations) was not so
fruitful.
The 34th negotiation round of the Trade Part of the EU-Mercosur
Association Agreement took place from 9th to 17th July 2018 in Brussels.
The draft of the agreement text is still not available but we are able to find serious commitment by the EU in terms of the promotion of sustainable development and social rights. As a matter of fact, it is possible to observe from the EU's textual proposals, in line with the EU 2015 Trade for All
Strategy, when the EU reasserted its ambition to “promote an ambitious
and innovative sustainable development chapter in all trade and investment agreements”, vowing to achieve “far-reaching commitments on all core labour rights” and to ensure “high levels of occupational health and safety and decent working conditions in accordance with the ILO Decent Work Agenda”, even in the context of the Mercosur negotiations as the EU proposed to include a Sustainable Development Chapter21.
In particular, the EU want to enhance the integration of sustainable development in the Parties' trade and investment relationship, notably by establishing principles and actions concerning labour and environmental aspects of sustainable development of specific relevance in a trade and investment contex, recognizing the right of each Party to determine its sustainable development policies and priorities, to establish the levels of domestic environmental and labour protection. Moreover, Parties should not weaken the levels of protection afforded in domestic environmental or labour law in order to encourage trade or investment or derogate from them or, again, fail to enforce labour laws in order to encourage trade or investment.
Then, according to the proposed article dedicated to “Multilateral Labour Standards and Agreements”, “The Parties reaffirm their commitment to promote the development of international trade in a way that is conducive to decent work for all, including for women and young people” and each Party shall respect, promote and effectively implement the internationally recognised core labour standards, “in accordance with the ILO Constitution and the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its Follow-up”.
As for the ILO Core Conventions for example, all Countries have already ratified the ILO Core Conventions, a part from Brazil, which has yet to ratify the the ILO Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87).