ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book reviews the cases dealt with to date to assess these competing evaluations, and determine the North American Agreement on Labour Cooperation (NAALC) potential to foster positive adjustment in worker rights and labour standards in an integrated North American market. It assesses evidence of the impact on domestic labour practices and the creation of transnational structures and practices among decision-makers and labour rights organizations. The book examines the debate surrounding the relationship between labour rights and trade liberalization, as it has evolved in the past two decades. It situates the NAALC in the comparative context of the new regionalism and neo-institutionalism. The book discusses the most visible and controversial dimension of the NAALC; the public submissions – complaints about labour law enforcement made by actors in each state against the other nations.
