2013 Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights - Mexico
| Publisher | International Trade Union Confederation |
| Publication Date | 6 June 2013 |
| Cite as | International Trade Union Confederation, 2013 Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights - Mexico, 6 June 2013, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/51b8516416.html [accessed 3 November 2019] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Refusal to recognise unions: Governmental agencies such as the Federal Electoral Institute and other public bodies systematically refuse to recognise unions.
Obstacles to collective bargaining: 90 per cent of collective agreements are signed by protection-contract unions established by employers and corrupt organisations with the aim of preventing bargaining in good faith.
One of the most serious violations occurred with the telecommunications company Atento Servicios concerning a contractual entitlement trial filed by the Sindicato de Telefonistas de la República Mexicana in order to invalidate the protection contracts. The trial was reportedly rigged.
Refusal to consult unions and anti-union discrimination: The case of the Sindicato Mexicano de Electricistas (SME) workers is still unresolved. In 2009, the Fuerza y Luz company was closed down arbitrarily and without consultation. This is considered as an open attack on one of the most important unions in Mexico. The SME has fought to get those workers reinstated ever since. In January 2013, the Supreme Court ruled that there was no obligation to re-employ the dismissed workers.
PKC workers sacked for organizing independent union: Since 2011, PKC, a Finnish auto-part supplier, has produced wire harnesses for the North American auto market. The company employs 5,500 workers. It fired more than 100 unionists, including the entire union executive committee, in December 2012. They were fired for campaigning for the election of an independent trade union, the National Union of Mine and Metalworkers at their plants in Ciudad Acuña, Mexico. Ten of the union leaders refused severance pay and are fighting for their reinstatement and to establish a democratically elected union at the plant. In January, they went on a week-long hunger strike outside the plant.
