Workshop on RCEP

Peoples Summit against FTAs and RCEP

WORKSHOP

RCEP & THE CORPORATE ATTACK ON PUBLIC SERVICES

&

BOOK RELEASE

Reclaiming Public Services – how cities and citizens are turning back privatisation

25 July 2017

10AM-5.30PM

Sundarayya Vignana Kendram (SVK). Hyderabad

Organised by Public Services International (PSI), Transnational Institute (TNI), Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ) & Focus on the Global South

Over the past two and a half decades, the private sector has grown exponentially, leading to widespread privatisation, and a decreased role of the state in the provision, of essential services. India exemplifies this phenomenon, with the rapid expansion of the private corporate sector in health, education, energy and telecommunications. Business lobbies have been active in using mechanisms such as the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) to ensure that new markets are opened up for profiteering. While Trade Unions and their allies confront various national processes that undermine the provision of quality public services, it is important to understand and influence international processes that will undermine decent work, democratic control and access to these services.

The latest and biggest FTA challenge confronting workers in the Asia-Pacific region is the 16 nation Regional Comprehensive Partnership (RCEP). The RCEP has been under negotiation since 2013 and covers sectors ranging from agriculture, services, manufacturing, investment, e-commerce and intellectual property. For quality public services, the RCEP challenges are manifold. These include further entrenching the hold of corporate players by curtailing the ability of the government to regulate them. RCEP will also lead to loss of government revenues in a context of under financing for essential services. Further, while the failure of the private sector in providing services such as water has led to bringing these back into public hands, RCEP creates hurdles to remunicipalisation struggles.

Rather than advancing a corporate agenda, Governments should focus on maintaining, expanding and improving the access of all people to high quality public services. A new book

‘Reclaiming Public Services – how cities and citizens are turning back privatisation’ articulates this positive work being done by labour unions, citizens and local governments in many cities across the world.

We invite all of you to this workshop being organised as part of the Peoples Summit against FTAs and RCEP on 25 July 2017 at the SVK in Hyderabad.

 Workshop Schedule:

10.00: Welcome and Introduction: Susana Barria (Public Services International)

10.30: Session 1: Corporate Attack on Public Services

Chair: V Lakshmi (PSI)

Amit Sengupta (Peoples Health Movement)

Kajal Bhardwaj (Independent Lawyer)

11.30 Tea break

Discussion (30 min)

12.00: Session 2. Fighting Back Corporate Power

Chair: Susana Barria

Book Release: ‘Reclaiming Public Services – how cities and citizens are turning back privatisation’

Kate Lappin (Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development, APWLD)

Benny Kuruvilla (Transnational Institute, TNI)

Mega Nandaku (Indonesia for Social Justice, IGJ)

1 pm: Lunch

2 pm: Session 3. Sectoral perspectives

Chair: V Narasimhan (All India National Life Insurance Employees Federation)

• Banking: Thomas Franco (All India Bank Officers Confederation, AIBOC)
• Sustainable Cities: Dinesh Abrol (Jawaharlal Nehru University)
• Municipalities: Prakash Devdas (Mumbai Mahanagar Karmachari Mahasangh)
• Digital Economy: Olisias Gultom (IGJ)
• FTA Watch, Thailand

3.30: Tea break

Discussion

4 pm: Session 4. Strategy and Way Forward

Chair: R Kannan (PSI)

5pm: Closing remarks