International Federation of Social Workers: Motion on exclusion of social work services from Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)

The International Federation of Social Workers Europe (IFSW) has issued the following motion:

IFSW Europe resolves to make representations to the EU and US to exclude social work services from the scope of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) currently being negotiated.

On 5th September 2015 representatives of member organisations of the European Region of the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) present at the Federation’s annual Delegates Meeting in Edinburgh unanimously approved a motion proposed by the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) requiring the Federation to make representations to the EU Commission and US Trade Representative urging them:

  1. To ensure that the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism (or any alternative negotiated following the European Parliament vote 08.07.15) contained in the proposed EU/US Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) does not apply to providers in social work and social care services and so will not deter the development of new services, or provoke the withdrawal of existing ones and remove government rights to regulate services.
  2. To insert public interest clauses excluding all social care and health services and all ‘services of general interest’ from the scope of TTIP and ISDS or any alternative to ISDS.
  3. To support the European Parliament International Trade INTA committee vote (28.05.15) to exclude public services (services of general interest) and monitor the exclusion of social care, social work and health services in the TTIP negotiations, particularly in the case of services where an element of private provision exists.

Read the full letter here.