The following resolution was adopted at TUI’s Annual Congress in 2015 in relation to TTIP:
Congress notes that there is a significant threat to Ireland’s high quality public education system if education is not excluded from the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) “the Comprehensive Trade and Economic Agreement (CETA) and the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA)” negotiations.
If education and other public services that are intrinsic elements of the social contract are included in the TTIP, CETA, and TISA the capacity of the Irish government to frame public education policy across all education sectors and/or policy in relation to other critical public services, in a manner that best serves the public good, will be unacceptably limited.
Congress also regards Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms as an affront to democracy and trenchantly opposes their inclusion in the TTIP, CETA and TISA.
Congress therefore instructs the Executive Committee, in conjunction with other unions, as appropriate, to call on the Irish government to demand the exclusion of education and other key public services from the TTIP, CETA, and TISA negotiations and to demand that ISDS mechanisms not be provided for in the TTIP,CETA and TISA. Congress further instructs the Executive to engage, through Education International/ETUCE, in lobbying in respect of these and other matters of concern to which the TTIP, CETA and TISA discussions give rise.
Sean Kelly MEP is a substitute member of the European Parliament Committee on International Trade. On Thursday the 28th May this committee will vote on a resolution on ISDS. The resolution they vote on will then be submitted to all our MEPs in June when the full Parliament votes on TTIP.
Click here to sign a petition to Sean Kelly outlining grave concerns over ISDS and TTIP.