Article 19.15: Labour Consultations
1. The Parties shall make every effort through cooperation and consultation based on the principle of mutual respect to resolve any matter arising under this Chapter.
2. A Party (requesting Party) may, at any time, request labour consultations with another Party (responding Party) regarding any matter arising under this Chapter by delivering a written request to the responding Party’s contact point. The requesting Party shall include information that is specific and sufficient to enable the responding Party to respond, including identification of the matter at issue and an indication of the legal basis of the request under this Chapter. The requesting Party shall circulate the request to the other Parties through their respective contact points.
3. The responding Party shall, unless agreed otherwise with the requesting Party, reply to the request in writing no later than seven days after the date of its receipt. The responding Party shall circulate the reply to the other Parties and enter into labour consultations in good faith.
4. A Party other than the requesting Party or the responding Party (the consulting Parties) that considers that it has a substantial interest in the matter may participate in the labour consultations by delivering a written notice to the other Parties within seven days of the date of circulation by the requesting Party of the request for labour consultations. The Party shall include in its notice an explanation of its substantial interest in the matter.
5. The Parties shall begin labour consultations no later than 30 days after the date of receipt by the responding Party of the request.
6. In the labour consultations:
(a) each consulting Party shall provide sufficient information to enable a full examination of the matter; and
(b) any Party participating in the consultations shall treat any confidential information exchanged in the course of the consultations on the same basis as the Party providing the information.
7. Labour consultations may be held in person or by any technological means available to the consulting Parties. If labour consultations are held in person, they shall be held in the capital of the responding Party, unless the consulting Parties agree otherwise.
8. The consulting Parties shall make every attempt to arrive at a mutually satisfactory resolution of the matter through labour consultations under this Article, taking into account opportunities for cooperation related to the matter. The consulting Parties may request advice from an independent expert or experts chosen by the consulting Parties to assist them. The consulting Parties may have recourse to such procedures as good offices, conciliation or mediation.
9. In labour consultations under this Article, a consulting Party may request another consulting Party to make available personnel of its government agencies or other regulatory bodies with expertise in the matter that is the subject of the labour consultations.
10. If the consulting Parties are unable to resolve the matter, any consulting Party may request that the Council representatives of the consulting Parties convene to consider the matter by delivering a written request to the other consulting Party through its contact point. The Party making that request shall inform the other Parties through their contact points. The Council representatives of the consulting Parties shall convene no later than 30 days after the date of receipt of the request, unless the consulting Parties agree otherwise, and shall seek to resolve the matter, including, if appropriate, by consulting independent experts and having recourse to such procedures as good offices, conciliation or mediation.
11. If the consulting Parties are able to resolve the matter, they shall document any outcome including, if appropriate, specific steps and timelines agreed upon. The consulting Parties shall make the outcome available to the other Parties and to the public, unless they agree otherwise.
12. If the consulting Parties have failed to resolve the matter no later than 60 days after the date of receipt of a request under paragraph 2, the requesting Party may request the establishment of a panel under Article 28.7 (Establishment of a Panel) and, as provided in Chapter 28 (Dispute Settlement), thereafter have recourse to the other provisions of that Chapter.
13. No Party shall have recourse to dispute settlement under Chapter 28 (Dispute Settlement) for a matter arising under this Chapter without first seeking to resolve the matter in accordance with this Article.
14. A Party may have recourse to labour consultations under this Article without prejudice to the commencement or continuation of cooperative labour dialogue under Article 19.11 (Cooperative Labour Dialogue).
15. Labour consultations shall be confidential and without prejudice to the rights of any Party in any other proceedings.