How the World Trade Organization Creates the Conditions for Low Wages - Coursework Example

How the World Trade Organization Creates the Conditions for Low Wages Introduction The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only international body mandated with the administration of the rules that govern and regulate the terms of trade between nations. Within the WTO there are agreements which are negotiated and signed by the vast and huge world’s trading nations and bodies. The major goal of the WTO is to make sure that the trading activities between nations are carried out smoothly without unnecessary hindrances or barriers. Consequently, the body creates and monitors the agreements which aim to reduce the trade barriers between different nations. The body gets into the resolution of disputes over the foreign market access and on the issues that influence the trade patterns between the signatories (Howse 134). All these are done with the intent of improving the lives of the people in these regions through free and fair trade between the countries. The objective to improve the lives of people on the trade links and platforms by the WTO are based on the efforts to ensure full employment to the people and regulation of the labor standards. The body was formed by the world laborers who wanted to improve the living standards of the workers through the establishment a candid and sound body to advocate for the rights of the laborers. The WTO has the power to review the laws of a nation which promote the unfair treatment of the workers. These laws are reviewed and various issues addressed so that the workers’ rights are advocated for. Through this mechanism, the WTO advocates for the lower wages for the workers. The organization also strives to meet the demands of the laborers on the issues linked to the labor rights and the free trade agreements and negotiations (Howse 131). Ideologically, it is proved to be wrong and unfair when the producers of the developed industrial countries compete with the imports from the nations with the low wage rates and poor labor standards. The economic effects of the unfavorable competitions are likely to lead to comparative disadvantages to the low wage-rates countries and their workforce. The general objective of the WTO in relation to the improvement of the living standards of the workers has been met through a number of actions in trying to protect the rights of the workers (Powell 91). The World Trade Organization has used the following strategies to realize the objective of creating the conditions of lower wages and the improvement of the lives of workers worldwide: The linking of labor rights with trade rules The linking of labor rules is a method that has been used by the WTO to improve the standards of lives of the workers. This has been incorporated with the trading principles and rules like those of free trade. This technique has been used in the countries which encourage imports and infringe the opportunities for exports in their countries. It is from this principle that the freedom of the international commerce was to be realized by the organizations which dealt with the issues of free trade and fair treatment of workers (Mantouvalou 133). The conditions for this freedom, requires that for the international commerce to be free from the trade barriers across regions, the markets within countries must be free from rigging to encourage the exports and discourage imports. From this platform, the countries which are still in the economic development transition and the developing ones are given a prescribed economic growth condition. Such countries are at a position to produce more goods for export which in turn encourages economic development and foreign investment in their economies as the opportunities are expanding. By this standard of agreement and the technique, aims to reduce the immediate impact of the free trade in the developing nations. The imports which are comparatively cheap, replace the locally produced domestic goods. This leads to the loss of job and income opportunities to the workers of the developing nations. By linking the economic development strategy of the free commerce, the organization aims to improve the living standards of the workers in these regions. This one of the fundamental principles of the Free Trade and is strongly articulated in the objectives of the WTO (Mantouvalou 133). The creation of conditions to the employers The World Trade Organization creates conditions which are prerequisites in the employment of an employee. The conditions for better pay and general decent treatment of the workers are conditions which meets the desired goals in any free labor market. The organization ensures that in any free labor markets, minimum wage laws and the guarantees of free collective bargaining are directed to change the wages that the market forces are in a position to produce if the factors in the market are not triggered. It has been observed that some regulations of the wages are in a position to improve the efficiency in the economy to a large scope (Mantouvalou 134). These regulations are also in able to enhance economic fairness to the workers in the same economy. If the employees are guided by the conditions of the organizations to create decent jobs to the workers then, the workers are possibly going to be employed productively. This leads to economic development since the wages are increased to improve the economy as the world economic systems require. The WTO stipulates that, the trade should base its operations and practices on the acceptable rules of market competitions (Mantouvalou 135). Through this principle the WTO intents to reduce the opportunities in the undemocratic markets that lead to indecent employment forms and the child labor. Non-tariff border restrictions This regulation gives the government of any importing country the obligation to impose its regulatory prerequisites on the imported products, so that these products are treated in a favorable way as the domestic products. This improves the conditions of the labor rights related issues and other measures in the market that strive to meet the National Treatment Standard of the imported goods and services. The measures of a proper and favorable market standard for the sale of products, and is not biased to the imports or domestic products. The products are produced in a manner consistent with the labor rights. This implies that the production process is not extended to extra activities in the industry (Cook 461). If any process in the production of a particular good or service is increased with the aim of redefining the product or to improve the quality of the product, then the workers should be paid more for the extra work done. The workers should not be denied the opportunity to decent and productive payment. Through this regulation the employers are compelled to avoid measures which exploit the work force of the workers and hence the protection of the rights of workers. The respect and the obligation to meet the requirements in the industries and employers projects on the safeguarding of the workers’ rights and the improvement of the economy through the conditions that the WTO creates for low wages and the protection of workers’ rights (Cook 461). The conditions for public morals The World Trade Organization strives to create the conditions for low wages through the creation of the conditions which encourages good morals in the production industry of the given economy. Trade sanctions are to be invoked on the production, supply or sale of products which do not heed to the objective of meeting good morals (Powell 91). On this ground the organization seeks to protect and regulate child labor and the denial of workers’ rights. It is found out that the manipulation of the children for low wages for jobs which are to be paid productively to adults as a measure that many employers use to maximize profits while reducing the cost of production. The productions of certain products in the economy are prescribed to be paid a certain wage rate when the employer works within the principles of decent and productive employment (Pagnattaro 663). If the same opportunities are given to the children, the employers incur little costs in the production process. This is also realized in the practice of prison labor, whereby, the prisoners are paid generally low as they are desperate for money and other economic valuables. The protection of the human rights and the realization of good public morals in the production systems as extended to cover the disapprobation of labor practices which end up violating the human rights in relation to the opportunities in the trade. There are chores and duties in the production systems that should be done by specific gender groups and those which need more manpower and should be given the right personnel (Pagnattaro 663). If the otherwise happen then it means that the effects are felt as in slavery and persecution. Workers should not be overworked in the production processes within the subjects a certain trade movement in the economy. Sanctions to compel states to alter their labor practices Economic sanctions are some of the measures that the WTO uses to induce changes in the government systems which do not respect the rights of workers. The governments or firms or organizations which do not meet the requirements to realize the obligation to work within the prescription of outlined labor standards. Measures like trade restrictions can be imposed on the nations and regions which do not respect the standards of labor to their citizens of foreign personnel in their territories (Howse 134). If a country is found to be violating the prescribed rights to the workers and not ascending to the labor standards, then the organizations comes with a regulatory measure that would put the country into commercial hardships in the operations worldwide. Such countries have been subjected to economic sanctions with the motive to rectify the economic conditions and the realization of the labor standards in the economic production in the country. The reasons behind the economic sanctions in certain countries which violate the human rights and the labor standards is that, human rights are universal and once they are abused the spread is spontaneous and the trend affects the world as a whole. Certain labor rights and standards have become human rights and once they are abused in the virtue of poor or dictatorial governance then the economic growth dwindles. The labor rights are not absolute and can never be defined within specific borders as some of the workers are linked to neighboring nations (Howse 134). The systematic threat to rule based trading orders Most of the free trades have, in many instances rejected the labor-rights-based trade measures holding the view that such measures would affects extensively the consistency and the sustainability of the rule-based liberal trade. Through such excuses the governments and other organizations lead take actions that intrinsically violate the labor rights of the workers. The organization therefore takes the responsibility of laying restrictions on the region on issues regarding the trade and external relations. In such cases there are risks of softening the distinctions between the cheating protectionists and genuine sanctions that further the non trade values (Howse 131-132). The organization compels the sanctioning nation to clearly define its labor standards so that the country under the question clearly determines their point of mess. These measures are always multidimensional and overlapping and the sanction conditions will be based on the violation of the multidimensional values related to the labor rights and the protection of the workers’ rights. The resultant effects on the wages impact on the all-trade activities and products; this reveals that the labor issues are central to ultimate credibility of the World Trade Organization. This is explained as the WTO is the major anchor of the rule based trading systems (Howse 131). The advocacy for commercial fairness-Based Arguments and Negotiations for Labor Rights The world trade organization sets the normative reflective point upon which the conditions and regulations concerning the labor wages are referred on. This is where the commercial fairness or competitiveness based fair and free trade indulges to lay the prescription for the labor standards and the wage rates in the trade centers and the governments. These factors largely affect the domestic producers and workers of other countries’ labor policies for these competitiveness claims influence the labor practices in other countries as they are varied in scope and multidimensional (Howse 131). Through this the WTO sets a pace through which countries reacts to meet the low wage requirements in the trading cycle. Conclusion The World Trade Organization is the only global organization with the audacity to control the economic practices in the world trading units and throughout the member countries. The WTO strives to meet these through the setting of the conditions that the countries with the least affinity to absorb the incorporate the labor standards. The labor rights are directly linked to the low wages conditions to the employers and producers. The organization directs economic sanctions on the nations which violate the labor rights and use all other means to realize and create the conditions for low labor. Therefore, the standards of labor rights and wage rates are determined by the World Trade Organization. Works Cited Cook, Paul. "Law Of Trade In Human Rights: A Legal Analysis Of The Intersection Of The General Agreement On Tariffs And Trades Article Xx(B) And Labor Rights Of Children." American University Labor & Employment Law Forum 3. (2013): 461. Howse, Robert. "The World Trade Organization And The Protection Of Workers Rights." Lewis & Clark College, The Journal Of Small And Emerging Business Law 3. (1999): 131-137. LexisNexis Academic: Law Reviews. Mantouvalou, Virginia. "Human Rights For Precarious Workers: The Legislative Precariousness Of Domestic Labor." Comparative Labor Law & Policy Journal 34. (2012): 133-136. LexisNexis Academic: Law Reviews Pagnattaro, Marisanne. "U.S. Trade Policy: Increased Emphasis on Worker Rights." Georgia Journal Of International And Comparative Law 40. (2012): 663. LexisNexis Academic: Law Reviews Powell, Stephen. "Beyond Labor Rights: Which Core Human Rights Must Regional Trade Agreements Protect?." Richmond Journal Of Global Law And Business 12.(2012): 91. Read More