Newsletter, April 2003
Retreat on GATS – Victory in Europe
In February, Pascal Lamy, the European Trade
Commissioner, announced that the European Commission (EC) would not commit Europe’s
health and education sectors to the free market rules of GATS and no
commitments at all would be made in broadcasting.
WDM called this a “retreat on GATS” made a few
days before WDM and 15,000 European
campaigners in Brussels demonstrated clearly what is wrong with GATS. (See GATS
demo in Brussels overleaf)The UK signed up in 1994 to the current version of
the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), which aims to open up
services to foreign competition & promote their privatisation and deregulation.
This will limit the ability of Government at all levels, local, regional or
national, to impose any regulation on the workings of the service companies.
Kelvin Hopkins, MP for Luton North, called
GATS a “global free trade trick to hand power over to multinational
corporations.” Patricia Hewitt,
secretary of State for Trade & Industry, revealed in the New Year that the
Government would not allow MPs a chance to vote on Britain’s final commitments
under GATS. MPs would “have an opportunity to scrutinise the outcome “ when the
talks were over and the deal signed.
For details on GATS see WDM’s website www.wdm.org.uk/campaign/GATS.htm#GATSreports
Fair Trade Chocolate Quiz
On 8
March, WDM invited shoppers at Sainsbury’s to complete a quiz on chocolate –
with chocolate prizes for all who entered, courtesy of Sainsbury’s. This was a fun thing, with multiple-choice
answers, but a serious Fair Trade message behind it. Many Thanks to Sainsbury’s for all the chocolate prizes.
The
entries with the highest scores were put in a hat and the overall winner was
drawn at the last CWDM monthly meeting - Sarah Brown of Cambridge who
has already received her prize.
Clare & Aidan Baker (left) at Sainsbury’s with Sue Woodsford handing out the chocolate quiz
New Chair for CWDM
The recent AGM of
Cambridge WDM saw Beth Coulthard voted in as Chair. She has high hopes of
increasing the profile of the local group through its website so look out for
improvements at http://www.woodsfordps.supanet.com/camwdm/home.htm
Julian Chilvers continues as Treasurer and Sue Woodsford as Secretary.
GATS Day of Action
Unfair trade rules got a
ribbing on 13 March when students from People and Planet joined Cambridge WDM and Friends of the
Earth members to stage a rigged Tug-of-War match between the rich and the poor
to highlight the problems of GATS. Sharp-suited business men from multinational
corporations battled it out with the poor and the services they might lose
because of GATS. The Tug-of-War made the pages of the Cambridge Evening News.
Signatures collected in
Cambridge Market Square resulted in five full sheets in less than a couple of
hours. These were delivered personally to the Government Office for the Eastern
Region at Westbrook House near Mitchams Corner. No response yet but we have not
given up hope of a reply.
Tug-of-War
with People and Planet.
GATS Demo in Brussels
Cambridge WDM travelled to Brussels on 9 February for a demonstration against GATS. Street action included businessmen with fishing nets in pursuit of services (water taps, power plugs, teachers &c.). That made it to the front page of De Morgen! For more details, see http://www.wdm.org.uk/action/brussels.htm
24 Hours for Trade Justice
A
lobby marathon.
The
Trade Justice Coalition is getting ready for the big lobby of MPs and
demonstrations that is to take place from 12nooon on Friday 27 to 12 noon on
Saturday 28 June – a whole 24 hours devoted to drawing attention to unfair trade
rules and how we could improve them.
Cambridge
MP Anne Campbell will be meeting CWDM members on Friday 27 June at 12.30pm at
the Labour Party HQ in Alex Wood Hall,
Norfolk Street, Cambridge. Discussions will centre on GATS and the trade
barriers of the EC as well as other unfair trading practices.
The
next day, a big demo in Cambridge Market
Square will show shoppers what they are participating in whenever they
make a purchase. Come and join us!
Malawi Exhibition
Cambridge
WDM is planning an exhibition on the Debt, featuring Malawi. This follows up
the talk Francis Ngambi gave us last September, about the impact of the debt
crisis on Malawi. & WDM’s report, “Structural Damage: the causes &
consequences of Malawi’s food crisis.”
Cambridge
WDM Meetings If you’d like to join this campaign for
justice for the world’s poor, new members are welcome to our meetings at 7.45pm
on 3rd Wed. of each month:
16 April Aidan & Clare 17
Conway Close
21
May Sue 14 Chesterton Hall Crescent
18
June Frank Grantchester Vicarage
16
July Beth 8 Railway Street
Sue
Woodsford, Hon Sec 14 Chesterton Hall Crescent Cambridge
CB4 1AP
Tel
No 01223 – 562983 or see website.