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TU Workshop on Non-Agricultural Market Access (NAMA) Negotiations
 Hind Mazdoor Sabha and International Metal Workers Federation (IMF) – South Asia Office organised a two-day national workshop on November 14 – 15, 2009 at Viswa Yuvak Kendra, New Delhi for trade unions with the support of Centre for Education and Communication (CEC) and Our World Is Not For Sale (OWINFS) network...More
About Nama India Campaign:
World Trade Organization's (WTO) Non Agricultural Market Access (NAMA) negotiations primarily aim at reducing or eliminating import tariffs of non-agricultural industrial goods and raw materials and fish and forest products. WTO negotiations on NAMA began in 2001 and gained momentum in 2004 with the introduction of modalities for further negotiation.
The NAMA proposal in its current form will have far reaching consequences for workers and economy in developing countries. The outcome of the present proposal will lead to deep tariff cuts in developing countries. It will affect the wage, social security, working conditions and livelihood of millions of workers in India. It will pressurize the local industries to reduce the cost of production in order to compete with cheap imports, which will in turn affect the workers and economy.
Objective
This project aims at building a broad alliance of stakeholders and facilitates them to campaign against the adverse consequences of NAMA on workers in various industries in India. The Campaign is based on a critical study of the ongoing WTO negotiations, specifically on NAMA and a simultaneous process of network building among stakeholders.
Activities
In India CEC along with HMS (Hind Mazdoor Sabha) played a crucial role in providing support to Indian Trade Unions and workers organizations to pressurize the government for taking an appropriate position without crumbling under the pressures and wooing offers made by the developed countries. Subsequently, through various memorandums, Indian trade unions created a space for dialogue with the government.
CEC is also one of the active participants in the campaign launched by ITUC (International Trade Union Confederation) along with Trade Unions in NAMA 11 countries, against the adverse consequences of NAMA.
Currently CEC is engaged in the process of developing Trade Union Education module on WTO NAMA negotiation to inform different ranks of Trade unionists on the sensitive nature of the negotiation and its implications on the welfare of working masses.
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Trade and Labour Rights 
