ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the substantial cooperation and consultation on labour affairs among the 3 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) states. The North American Agreement on Labour Cooperation (NAALC) defines cooperative activities as 'the gathering and exchanging of information about labour law, industrial relations, labour markets, and human resources practices in each party country considered on its own and/or comparatively to the other two'. The NAALC suggested themes for cooperative activities: occupational safety and health; child labour; migrant workers; the equality of women and men in the workplace; violence and labour trafficking; and labour market development. Supporters and opponents of NAFTA agreed that there were deficiencies in Mexico's capabilities to enforce occupational health and safety standards. The chapter concludes by evaluating the range of social and state actors who have been involved, and assessing the potential for regionalization of the labour policy community.
