Efforts,
principally by the United States and France, to introduce negotiations
on minimum labour standards at the Singapore Ministerial Meeting in
December 1996 met strong opposition from developing countries, led
by Malaysia, India, Pakistan and Egypt.
WTO
Trade Ministers expressed support for observance of “internationally
recognized core labour standards” and identified the International
Labour Organization as the competent body to set and deal with
such standards.
The
Singapore Declaration also rejected the use of labour standards
for protectionist purposes, and agreed that the comparative advantage
of countries, particularly low-wage developing countries, should not
be compromised.
