Suspend the UK-India Free Trade talks! Solidarity with workers in India 

Join us in standing with the workers of the UK and India against the UK-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Support the call for solidarity and action by introducing our motion in your local trade union, organisation and political party branches. 

Notes:

1. The 10th of January saw the start of the 14th round of negotiations between the UK and Indian governments for a UK-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

2. The call from the UK Trades Union Congress (TUC), alongside Indian unions representing tens of millions of workers, to suspend these talks due to the dire human rights situation in India.

3. Analysis from the TUC and trade justice organisations exposing how the FTA is likely to undermine the positions of workers in both countries.

4. That over 90% of India’s workers are in the “informal economy”, with virtually no employment rights. 

5. That since 2014, with the coming to power of Narendra Modi’s extreme-right Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), there has been a deepening of anti-worker, neoliberal policies in India, with and increased violence against Muslims, oppressed caste and indigenous communities, alongside an escalating crackdown on and incarceration of human rights activists, trade unionists, journalists, academics, students and other dissenting intellectuals and communities under colonial sedition laws and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) that are antithetical to democratic governance.

6. More recently Indian unions have strongly protested against the Indian government’s policy under which Indian workers are replacing Palestinians workers and have refused to handle weapons for Israel. ILS stands with the Indian unions.

7. The connections between the many UK politicians, notably from the Conservative Party, and the government led by Narendra Modi.

Further notes:
1. The establishment of the India Labour Solidarity campaign (ILS: see https://bit.ly/inlabsol / https://twitter.com/indlabsol) to build greater links and solidarity between workers’ organisations in the UK and India; and its briefing on the FTA (https://bit.ly/indiafta).
2. Recent UK parliamentary Early Day Motion 1607 https://bit.ly/manipuredm, highlighting the (ongoing) violence in the eastern Indian state of Manipur as well as the wider situation in India, and calling for FTA talks to be suspended.

Resolves:

1. Alongside the TUC, to call for suspension of the FTA talks. We urge all unions and political parties to do the same, as part of highlighting India’s human rights crisis and strengthening links with sister unions and others in India.

2. To highlight demands for improvement and enforcement of labour and human rights outlined by the TUC, ILS and Trade Justice Movement (see ILS briefing https://bit.ly/indiafta) as necessary baselines for any future trade deals.

3. To circulate the statement in solidarity with Indian workers launched by Nadia Whittome MP and ILS https://bit.ly/indiasolidaritystatement 

4. To support and invite a speaker from ILS.