Canada and the Dominican Republic reach Labour Cooperation Agreement

The two countries were negotiating since 2007

Canada’s Labor Minister, Lisa Raitt, and Francisco Dominguez Brito, Dominican Republic’s Minister of Labor, today announced the successful conclusion of labor cooperation negotiations between the two countries.

The Government of Canada is committed to maintaining strong relationships and continued dialogue with our partner countries, said Minister Raitt. Our government is happy to have worked closely with the Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Labor to develop the first global stand-alone Labor Cooperation Agreement.

It is a great honor for the Dominican Republic to conclude this agreement and to confirm, once again, the country’s commitment to complying with norms related to fair and decent work, said Mr. Dominguez Brito. Canada is a great friend of the Dominican people and we are proud to share a common respect for these labor principles.

The Canada-Dominican Republic Agreement on Labor Cooperation is one of the most comprehensive labor cooperation agreements to date and the first globally to enforce labor obligations that are not linked to a free trade agreement.

Canada and the Dominican Republic have established a strong and highly effective working relationship through participation in the Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor (IACML). Since 2009, the Dominican Republic has received nearly $645,000 in labor-related technical assistance programming from the Government of Canada.

In 2007, Canada entered into negotiations with the Dominican Republic to secure a free trade agreement and parallel agreements on labor and the environment. While trade negotiations have not yet concluded, a stand-alone labor cooperation agreement (LCA) was successfully negotiated in June 2011.

The labor agreement with the Dominican Republic is similar to Canada’s LCAs with Colombia, Peru and Panama. It includes robust labor-related obligations and provides an open, transparent, and streamlined dispute resolution mechanism to guarantee compliance. If required, monetary assessments can be imposed on the party that fails to comply with the labor obligations.

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