Cooperation was the key word for the Commission for Labor Cooperation in 1997. Article 11 of the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC) is entitled "Cooperative Activities," and under its provisions a number of important events were held: the first North American Occupational Safety and Health Week (June 2-6), devoted to raising public awareness of the importance of safety and health in the workplace; two international conferences on child labor, one in San Diego in February and one in Ottawa in October; and a ground-breaking conference on Women and Work in the 21st Century, in Querétaro. All of these are described more fully in this Annual Report.

The theme of cooperation is not restricted to Article 11. On the contrary, it pervades the entire Agreement and constitutes the central work of the Commission. Cooperation resonates in the Preamble of the Agreement (e.g., the parties are "Convinced of the benefits to be gained from further cooperation between them on labor matters"); it is reiterated several times in the statement of "Objectives" of Article I (e.g., "pursue cooperative labor-related activities on the basis of mutual benefit"); it appears in Article 10, which describes the functions of the Council of Ministers ("establish priorities for cooperative action"), and in Article 13 describing the functions of the Secretariat; and it is stated to be the guiding principle of the Agreement in Article 20 at the opening of Part Four, devoted to "Cooperative Consultations and Evaluations" ("The Parties ... shall make every attempt through cooperation and consultations to resolve any matter that may affect its [the NAALC's] operations").

The Parties have manifested this spirit of cooperation in their approach to a series of issues raised under the Ministerial Consultations provisions of Part Four. Article 22 states, "Any Party can request consultations with another Party at the Ministerial level regarding any matter within the scope of the agreement." To date, the Parties have used this channel exclusively to consult on matters that have originally been raised as "public communications" brought to the attention of one of the National Administrative Offices.

The provisions of the Agreement are quite general as to what is expected of the Parties when they engage in Ministerial Consultations, stating simply that they "shall make every attempt to resolve the matter through consultations." In practice, the Parties have chosen to breathe life into their Agreement by taking a creative and cooperative approach to this function. For example, in 1997 a specialized seminar was held in Baltimore on the relationship of international treaty obligations to domestic laws and constitutions in all three NAALC countries. Although somewhat technical in legal terms, the central themes of this seminar are clearly crucial to the NAALC itself and to the expanding range of international commitments undertaken in response to the many facets of globalization.

The work of the Secretariat has been increasingly concerned with promoting greater cooperation among the NAALC countries on labor matters. The Secretariat initiated Cooperation Agreements with academic institutions in order to further mutual objectives related to labor matters. It is also coordinating the first international working group of federal, state and provincial officials to be established under the NAALC, which will examine issues related to compensation for work-related illness or injury.

John S. McKennirey
Executive Director