Industri-ALL fights trade union rights violations in Mexico

Industri-ALL global union in South Africa picketed outside the Mexico embassy in Pretoria on Wednesday March 20 this year.

The picket was in solidarity with the Mexican workers against the abuse of workers and trade union by both the government and multinational companies such as Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

The memorandum ialso referred to the oppressive amendment of labour laws by the Mexican government to deprive unions of existing right and avoid engagement at the ILO over compliance with ILO conventions. In the worst situation, 63 miners were entombed underground, while the company and the Mexican government refused to bring the bodies out to be given a proper burial.

Industri-ALL is shocked by the systematic attacks on trade union rights and the increasing criminalisation of all union and civil protest in Mexico.

“Workers continue to be systematically excluded from any process of genuine collective bargaining. Both local and federal labour boards have repeatedly blocked workers’ efforts to form democratic unions by sanctioning protection contracts signed between employers and employer-dominated unions without the approval or even the knowledge of the workers,” said Industri-ALL.

Industri-ALL further wants to rebuild disrupted labour relations with the Mexico government. The government should intervene in the matter to ensure that these issues are resolved. Industri-All demands that the government: rejects the appeal made by the Felipe Calderón government to the Supreme Court of Justice on January 30 this year and respects the final judgment of the Second Court in Labour Matters which ordered the immediate reinstatement of all 16 599 SME workers to the CFE, as the substitute employer, in accordance with the union’s collective bargaining agreement:

• drops the politically motivated charges against Los Mineros and SME leaders and release jailed members;

• compels Grupo Mexico to restore dialogue and ensure a negotiated end to the almost six year-old strikes at Cananea, Sombrerete and Taxco;

• promotes the necessary investment to permit Mexicana de Aviación to once again take to the skies;

• ensures that BATA/Sandak respects the labour rights of its workers, including the right to strike;

• ensures that Continental AG and continental Llantera Potosina in Mexico do not exclude the democratic unions from the sectoral bargaining; and

• orders the following companies to reinstate unlawfully fired union activists and workers and ensure free and fair union elections: PKC Group, Excellon
Resources, Bain Capital/Atento Mexico, Grupo Modelo, and Honda.

Industri-All further demands that the Mexico uphold its constitutional obligations to bring domestic law into line with international treaties; not interfere in the legal challenges to the regressive changes of the Federal Labour Law filed by hundreds of thousands of workers in January 2013; and adhere to the ILO’s repeated recommendations on ending protection contracts and ensuring occupational health and safety.

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