VOA常速英语2017--美国称致力于提升全球劳动者权利（在线收听）

The promotion of labor rights is an integral part of United States foreign policy. U.S. Special Representative for International Labor Affairs Sarah Fox says supporting fundamental worker rights, such as freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, are an important part of U.S. economic diplomacy:

“Labor Rights are human rights, but they're also economic rights. And workers being able to exercise these rights is very important to building economies in which prosperity and the benefits of growth are broadly shared. This in turn contributes to stability, to democracy and to building the kinds of prosperous, peaceful societies in which everyone feels that they are part of the economy, that they have opportunity, which is what we promote over all. So it fits very well into many threads of our foreign policy agenda.”

Special Representative Fox and her team at the U.S. State Department have worked closely with foreign governments and stakeholders to address worker rights in countries such as Bangladesh, where the Rana Plaza clothing factory collapse killed 1,137 people in 2013:

“We came together -- the U.S. government with the European Union, with Canada, with the International Labor Organization, with the government of Bangladesh on what we call the Sustainability Compact to help improve labor rights and worker safety and health in that sector. So that's been a big focus on our work.”

Members of the Sustainability Compact work with private sector stakeholders and the United Nations to fulfill short and long term commitments related to respect for labor rights; structural integrity of buildings; occupational safety and health; and responsible business conduct. On-the-ground work has included safety inspections in some 4000 factories. The group has also worked with the United Nations International Labor Organization and with the Bangladeshi government on reforming labor laws, developing mechanisms to facilitate union registration, and on investigation and prevention of unfair labor practices.

The United States will continue to engage Bangladesh and other governments to improve worker rights around the world.

提升劳动权是美国外交政策不可分割的一部分。美国国际劳动事务特别代表莎拉福克斯(Sarah Fox)说，支持劳动者的基本权利（如结社自由以及劳资谈判权）是美国经济外交政策的重要组成部分。

“劳动权既是人权的组成部分，同时也属于经济权利。劳动者对劳动权的行使，对于构建繁荣强盛、发展利益广泛共享的经济社会是十分重要的。而这样的经济社会反过来又能促进稳定、提升民主、加速繁荣和平的社会的构建。在这样的社会中，每个人都会感到自己是经济运转的螺丝钉，每个人都能感到自己有拼搏的机会。这就是我们终极目标。所以，提升劳动权与我国外交议程的多条主线完美契合。”

一直以来，福克斯及其国务院团队都在与多个国外政府和利益相关方密切合作，以解决包括孟加拉国等国家在内的劳动者权利问题。以孟加拉国为例，拉纳大厦(Rana Plaza)服装厂的坍塌事故曾于2013年致1137名职工死亡。

“我们美国政府与欧盟、加拿大、国际劳工组织(International Labor Organization)、孟加拉国政府一道，致力于可持续性契约组织的构建，以助力提升该领域的劳动权、劳动者安全和健康。所以这一直都是我们工作的重点。”

可持续性契约组织的成员国与私营企业的利益相关方以及联合国一道，履行短期和长期承诺，具体有关于：对劳动权的尊重、楼体的结构完整性、职业安全与健康、职业道德与职业操守。目前已在近4000个工厂内进行了实地的安全检查。该组织还与联合国国际劳工组织以及孟加拉国政府合作，对多个劳动法进行了改革，发展了促进联盟注册的机制，并阻止和研究了多个不正当劳动行为。

美国将继续与孟加拉国和其他国家一道，提升全球劳动者的权利。