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Canada-Costa Rica Agreement on Labour Cooperation



The Canada-Costa Rica Agreement on Labour Cooperation (CCRALC) was signed in April 2001 in tandem with the bilateral free trade agreement (CCRFTA) between the two countries. It became effective in November 2002.

The CCRALC provides a framework for dealing with labour issues in the context of trade liberalization. Its two pillars are cooperation and the effective enforcement of domestic labour laws. In the Agreement, both countries commit to reflect internationally-recognized core labour principles and rights in their domestic labour legislation, and to improve governance by administering and enforcing those laws in a fair, transparent, and effective manner.

The core labour principles and rights set out in the Agreement are based on the International Labour Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (1998), which represents a global consensus on the international core labour rights that countries are to promote, regardless of their level of economic development. 

The CCRALC includes a set of enforceable obligations and a public communications mechanism through which concerns about a country’s lack of enforcement of labour rights can be aired. It particularly encourages bilateral cooperation to promote the achievement of these objectives.

In support of the CCRALC, the Labour Program created a Technical Assistance Program , which began in March 2003 with the project FOALCO (“Strengthening Governance in Costa Rica’s Labour Administration”), executed by the International Labour Organization (ILO). The second phase of FOALCO was launched in August 2004.

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Date Modified:  2005-12-02

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