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North American Agreement on Labour Cooperation
- NAALC Text
- Intergovernmental Agreement
- Cooperative Activities
- Public Communications
- Periodic Reviews
The North American Agreement on Labour Cooperation (NAALC) came into effect in January 1994. It is one of two parallel accords to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The Agreement is administered by the Commission for Labour Cooperation, which consists of a Council of Ministers and a tri-national Secretariat, based in Washington, D.C. Currently four provinces (Quebec, Alberta, Manitoba and Prince Edwards Island) are signatories to the NAALC through an Intergovernmental Agreement.
The Commission works in close cooperation with the National Administrative Offices (NAOs) established in each country to implement the Agreement and serve as the national point of contact. In Canada, the Office for Inter-American Labour Cooperation within the Labour Branch of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada acts as the Canadian NAO. The Canadian NAO also provides for the submission and receipt of public communications (complaints) on labour law matters arising in the territory of another Party and serves as the official review agency in Canada.
The NAALC Secretariat of the Commission for Labour Cooperation provides support to the Council of Ministers, undertakes labour-related research and assists the member countries with tri-national labour cooperative activities. Research and publications, including the recently released Guide to Labor and Employment Laws for Migrant Workers in North America are available on the Commission’s website, as are Annual Reports that describe cooperative activities undertaken by the Parties under the Agreement.
