Vince Butler, CMIOSH explains the Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership and what he thinks it could mean for health and safety.
The Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP) is progressing toward its conclusion, signing and enactment.
Very few people have heard about TTIP as virtually all of the discussions and agreements have been carried out in secret by mostly legal representatives and lobbyists of US & EU large corporations.
What is TTIP? – a trade agreement to bring down virtually all and every barrier, tariff and to trade between the US & EU.
Mainstream media cover is sparse but headlines typically state: massive boost to the economy and 100,000’s new jobs:
A multitude of alternative media sources, however are aghast at the secretive destruction of democracy and outright attack on standards of health & safety, employment rights, food safety, GMOs, the NHS and every public service up for privatisation, environment protection, copyright, etc. The outcome is likely to be a ‘race to the bottom’.
The big issue of TTIP is a compensation process called Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) whereby if a sovereign government amends and introduces a law, a corporation can claim compensation for lost profits from the tax payer under ISDS. TTIP agrees that 3 independent corporate lawyers decide on ISDS pay-outs, no courts, no usual legal process.
Potential ISDS claim example: respirable crystalline silica (RCS) dust is highly likely to cause the next massive spike in work related cancer and COPD deaths, anecdotal evidence suggests possibly 10 times greater than asbestos.
The UK government after consultation introduces legislation to reduce RCS exposure limits, upgrade worker protection and health surveillance – obviously a cost on business due to a change in H&S law. ISDS allows a corporation to sue the UK government (tax payer) for future lost profits, decided upon by 3 corporate lawyers, as stated above – no courts.
It won’t take many ISDS claims, especially successful ones, for sovereign governments to become reticent about changing laws to improve worker safety and wellbeing, hence the whole landscape of democracy changes over time.
Vince Butler is a chartered member of IOSH, a chartered member MCIPD, and runs RSVP Safety Services Ltd. He has spent 35 years in a senior, influencing role in many aspects of helath and safety including deep coal mining, construction, rail, utilities, facilities management and process industry.
Related videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSuIGKSm7z0
David Malone TTIP lecture part 1 of 3
David Malone TTIP lecture part 2 of 3
David Malone TTIP lecture part 3 of 3
