North American Labor Ministers Meet to Discuss Progress on NAFTA Labor Commission

Washington, D.C., November 13th, 2003 - The Secretaries of Labor of the United States, Mexico and Canada's Minister of Labour held their Seventh Ministerial Meeting today to acknowledge the substantially increased cooperation that has taken place in the area of workers' rights since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed ten years ago. U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao hosted the event at the Department of Labor.

The meeting was held under the auspices of the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC), which is the negotiated agreement among the U.S., Canada and Mexico that deals with improving working conditions and living standards for workers, while NAFTA promotes trade and closer economic ties. The NAALC was signed by all three countries in September 1993 and entered into force on January 1, 1994. The NAALC encourages cooperation among the partners through exchanges of information, technical assistance and consultations and promotes effective enforcement by each Party of its labor laws. The Agreement also contains independent review procedures. The objective is to provide a better understanding of labor laws and to foster transparency in its administration. The Council that provides oversight of NAALC is composed of the three labor Ministers with a broad mandate to work cooperatively on labor issues.

Commenting on today's Ministerial, the Council members recognized the significance of the meeting.

The United States' Secretary of Labor, Elaine L. Chao, stated, "I am pleased to host this Council of Ministers' meeting and have the opportunity to discuss these important issues with Secretary Carlos Abascal and Minister Claudette Bradshaw. The NAALC represents a good example of how trading partners can collaborate productively to address labor issues of mutual concern."

Canada's Minister of Labour, The Honourable Claudette Bradshaw, expressed her satisfaction with the event. "I believe the meeting was a great success, and that we continue to deepen our cooperation and build on our partnerships with each other", said Minister Bradshaw.

Mexican Secretary of Labor and Social Welfare, Carlos María Abascal, stated that the NAALC has encouraged cooperation among Mexico, the United States and Canada. "Governments must continue to make every effort to find solutions to problems by favoring cooperation and dialogue above all. The main challenge for domestic and international action is to stimulate the creation of more and better jobs for all." Secretary Abascal also underscored the valuable contribution that migrant workers make to the economies of North America.

This meeting of the Ministerial Council of the Commission for Labor Cooperation provided North American Labor Ministers with an opportunity to discuss timely labor issues facing the three countries, including the opportunities and challenges involved in developing the skills needed for the 21st century workforce, the social and labor components of hemispheric integration, and migrant worker rights. The Council agreed to continue its second review of the operation and effectiveness of the NAALC.

Each country will solicit public views on the process and efficiency of the NAALC. The countries will also share their findings with each other. A final report will be made available to the public in 2004. The Council announced the release, later this month of the second edition of its major report on North American labor markets entitled North American Labor Markets: Main Changes Since Nafta. The study provides data on labor market issues such as unemployment, productivity, hours of work and classes of employment. Acknowledging the importance of making the findings of the report available to the public, the Council discussed ways to make the data easily accessible.

In addition, the Council announced the release in 2004 of the North American Migrant Workers' Guide produced by the Secretariat, the entity that provides technical support to the Council of Ministers. The objective of this set of guides is to ensure that migrant workers in North America know their labor rights and understand how they are enforced in each of the three countries. The Council also approved a plan for the promotion and distribution of the Guide and committed their respective labor ministries to making the Guide widely available in all three countries.

In a demonstration of continued cooperation, the Council approved a work plan describing program activities for 2004.

Finally, the Council agreed that the three countries and the Secretariat would develop a plan to make a North American contribution to the implementation of the Action Plan of the 13th Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor. This is a hemispheric forum that is currently addressing the labor dimensions of globalization in the Americas and the strengthening of the capacity of labor ministries in the region.