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Unions file first labour complaint against Mexico under free-trade deal
Under the latest trade deal Mexico agreed to reform its labour laws to guarantee secret-ballot votes on union representation and the right to organise freely — now cross-border worker organisation is fighting to enforce that in the state of Tamaulipas, reports TONY BURKE
Union lawyer Susana Prieto speaks to workers in Matamoros Mexico who are being prohibited from choosing their own independent union
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US and Mexican trade unions have filed their first labour complaint against the government of Mexico under the under the US-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement (USMCA).
The complaint, backed by union federation AFL-CIO in the US, argues that Mexico has not lived up to its pledge under the deal to guarantee workers the right to organise and join the union of their choice, rather than one previously hand picked by then employer.
Their case centres on the Tridonex auto parts assembly plant in the Mexican border city of Matamoros, where workers have been fighting to form a new independent union rather than join existing pro-company “yellow” union SITPME.
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