Introduction: Process for the Review

The North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC) was signed as one of the supplementary accords to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), on September 14, 1993, by the Presidents of Mexico and the United States, and the Prime Minister of Canada, and entered into force on January 1, 1994. The NAALC is a novel and unique international agreement, the first international agreement on labor matters to be linked to a free trade agreement. And the Commission it creates is the first international body since the founding of the International Labor Organization (ILO) in 1919 to be devoted exclusively to labor rights and related matters. It provides a mechanism for member countries to cooperate on a wide range of labor objectives and to ensure the effective enforcement of existing and future domestic labor laws without interfering in the sovereign functioning of the different national legislative and labor administrative systems.

Through the NAALC, the trading partners are committed to seven broad objectives, including to improve working conditions and living standards, and to promote 11 Labor Principles to protect, enhance and enforce workers' basic rights. To accomplish these goals, the NAALC creates institutions and mechanisms for cooperative activities, the development and exchange of information and analysis, intergovernmental consultations, as well as for independent evaluations and dispute settlement related to the enforcement of labor laws.

In its Article 10, the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC) requires that the Council of Ministers, which is the governing body of the Commission for Labor Cooperation established by the Agreement, shall "oversee the implementation and develop recommendations on the further elaboration of this Agreement and, to this end, the Council shall, within four years after the date of entry into force of this Agreement, review its operation and effectiveness in the light of experience."

On September 18, 1997, in accordance with the above requirement, the Council of Ministers adopted a "Process for Review of the NAALC," which is reproduced on the following page. In addition to issuing an invitation to the public to submit written comments, this process also involved consulting directly with a number of special advisory bodies. The full consultation process and its results are discussed in Part Two below.

This report is the culmination of that review process. Part One presents the conclusions of the Council of Ministers. Part Two summarizes the highlights of the consultation process. Part Three presents a description of the NAALC and its institutions and a summary of operations and activities that have taken place under the Agreement from the time it came into force to September 1998. Annexes contain the reports of the Review Committee of Experts and of the National Advisory Committees as well as the written comments put forward by individuals and organizations in the public consultation process, and a Bibliography.

NAALC Review Process

Article 10:1(a) of the NAALC provides that: "the Council shall oversee the implementation and develop recommendations on the further elaboration of the NAALC and, to this end, shall, within four years after the date of entry into force of the NAALC, review its operation and effectiveness in light of experience."

The Parties have agreed to the following process for the review:

1. The Secretariat will prepare a general overview of the activities undertaken under the Agreement since coming into force on January 1, 1994, including cooperative activities, public communications, NAO and Ministerial Consultations, and Secretariat reports.
2. Each Party will request comments on the operation and effectiveness of the NAALC from their Governmental and National Advisory Committees and will transmit these comments to the Secretariat.
3. The Commission will issue an invitation for written public comments to be submitted to the Secretariat or to the National Administrative Offices. Comments received by the NAOs will be transmitted verbatim to the Secretariat.
4. Each Party will choose a non-governmental labor expert from their National Advisory Committee or an alternate chosen by the Party, to serve on a Review Committee, which will provide an independent Advisory Report to the Council on the operation and effectiveness of the NAALC. The Secretariat will provide support to the Review Committee.
5. After the consultation process, the Secretariat shall consolidate the inputs received through the methods discussed above and submit a draft report for consideration by the Council. The draft report should include (a) the general overview; (b) highlights from the input received in the consultation process including comments from the Executive Director on the operation of the Secretariat; and (c) the Advisory Report of the Review Committee. In preparing the draft report the Secretariat will examine literature related to the NAALC and will identify key issues for consideration by the Council.
6. The Council will consider the above information and issue a "Report on the Review of the NAALC." This final report, including an Executive Summary, will be made available to the public and will include the Review Committee's Advisory Report to Council. The Executive Summary of the Council's Report will be included in the Labor Commission's 1997 Annual Report.