Labor Rights

For ProDesc the struggle for justice in regards to labor rights represents one of the most important tools to achieve a concrete and true improvement of the unjust conditions that thousands of Mexican workers currently suffer. Such conditions are also appearing in other countries at an alarming rate. We believe that through collective organization and rights training, workers can demand their rights and provide a more dignified life to their families.

Violations of labor rights by the company Luismin, S.A. de C.V.

Project “Los Filos-El Bermejal” Guerrero, Mexico

ProDesc has provided legal accompaniment and labor rights training to the workers of the mining company Luismin. The workers decided to organize themselves due to the dismal labor conditions in which they found themselves working.

Background

Luismin S.A. de C.V. is a Mexican mining company and is a subsidiary of Gold Corp of Canada. One of their main projects is the “Los Filos” and “El Bermejal” projects found in the state of Guerrero. They consist of 20 different concessions and cover a total of 4,962 hectares inside the municipality of Eduardo Neri. Luismin S.A. de C.V. acquired the concessions in 2005 and since then they have hired workers in nearby communities such as Mezcala, Zumpango, Carrizalillo, and Aztcala.

The company has a small plant of around 500 workers who labor directly for the company. On June 29, 2007, these workers formed the “General Coalition of Workers of Luismin Corporation” because of the precarious labor conditions. After a labor strike of 12 hours, a negotiation table was created in the Municipal building of Mezcala and headed by the general director of the corporation in México, Salvador García Ledesma and the general manager of the Los Filos-El Bermejal Project, Tomas Iturriaga Hidalgo.

The coalition was represented by a commission of twenty-two workers who represented various work areas in the company.

Events

The workers raised several labor rights violations, including unsatisfactory conditions of work, and the undignified treatment of supervisors to workers in several departments. The Coalition was advised and accompanied in their organization efforts by ProDesc and Tlachinollan, reaching important agreements at the negotiating table.
Several of their achievements include the following:

1. Recategorization and rehiring of around 30 workers who were fired without justification. This also included retroactive back pay.
2. Dignified treatment of workers and the establishment of a space for complaints in the office of Engineer Tomas Iturriaga (Every Monday from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm)
3. A doctor in the company facilities, and an interview with the Social Security representative in Chilpancingo to better the clinic in Mezcala.
4. Construction of a road to the community of Mazapa and the pavement of this road starting in 2008.
5. Uniforms and security equipment
6. Bonuses for the maintenance workers
7. Pay in compliance with overtime, and holiday laws.
8. Reinstatement of special bonus for the workers in the laboratory
9. Transportation costs to the workers from the community of San Miguel (one tank of gas per week)
10. Installation of a tripartite commission of security and hygiene
11. Handing over of identification document for all personnel
12. A camper for the Geology workers
13. Lockers for the laboratory workers as well as the creation of a room where they can change
14. A house and mobile tent for the workers on the platforms
15. Installment of portable eyewash stations in areas where it is necessary as well as the installment of potable water that is sufficient for human use.
16. Respect of the lunch hour for all departments in the facility.
17. Concession of transportation of the workers to their communities of origin.

The Struggle of Female Workers

One factor that stands out in this case is the role that female workers had in the organizing efforts of the Coalition. In the mine, a number of women manage heavy machinery and work in the laboratory. Nonetheless, the majority of female workers work in cleaning of both offices as well as the houses of company workers. The labor conditions before reaching an agreement with the company were very unfavorable for these workers because they had no defined work schedule, they were required to do extra activities, and they had to cook and clean clothes without extra pay. The participation of these workers in the movement constitutes an important factor in the battle to achieve higher participation and decision-making on the part of female workers.

Legal Support for the Center for Worker Support (CAT) in the case of discharged workers of Johnson Controls Finsa

As part of the work carried out by CAT (Center for Worker Support- based in Puebla), ProDesc is handling the legal defense of several workers fired because they defended their labor rights. This is a common situation in the country and constitutes the most constant form of repression toward workers who try to collectively organize to better their work conditions.

Johnson Controls Services S de R.L de C.V is an autoparts company that assembles seats and for cars. The majority of production in the plant is destined for the VW plant but seats are also made for Ford, MB, Chrysler, and Nissan. The company is located at km. 117 of the México-Puebla highway, in the industrial park Bralemex in Cuautlancingo, Puebla. The company’s central offices are in Kentucky. Johnson Controls started operations in 1997 with about 100 workers, the majority of whom were women. Currently, there are more than 1200 workers. The union currently in control of a collective agreement with the company is the National Union of Industry Workers of the Mexican Republic (CROM).

The Facts

In January of 2006, CAT started to gather information about the company, including the application of questionnaires and house visits of the company’s workers in order to learn more about their working conditions. As a result of these investigations, CAT identified several violations of labor rights. The Center also saw a clear necessity for a more democratic union that permits the participation of its members in its internal operations.

At that point, CAT started an intense campaign of union organization with the workers through training which allowed the workers to share work experiences and motivated them to start their own education and promotion of labor rights. As a response to these activities, the company called together a meeting to indicate to the workers that information regarding the plant is confidential and they were prohibited from sharing it with anyone outside the company.

Among the main violations of labor rights raised by the workers was the absence of union democracy and freedom of association of workers. There have also been irregularities in the distribution of production bonuses. Workers have only received between $800 and $1200 pesos even though the company has managed the bonuses between the union and the company. The company also did not pay the yearly “aguinaldo,” a bonus that is required under the Federal Labor Law. Finally the company created a “bank of hours” which requires workers to work extra hours without pay. They then accumulate hours which they the company then gives back to them when they arrive late or miss work. This eliminates any obligation for overtime hours.

Johnson Controls is also subcontracting workers from “One Digit” so that they can maintain their own workers in plain vulnerability and reduce the possibilities of organization among the workers. Many of the workers protested the lack of support of the union but are scared to defend their rights for fear that they will be fired. At the same time, the CROM started a campaign to interview people and keep an eye on workers who took part in the trainings.

On July 11, 2007, eight workers were fired without justification from the company. They were told they were fired because they were training themselves on labor rights. This was a demonstration of repression by the company against workers who struggle for dignified and satisfactory work conditions. It is also proof of repression against workers who are fighting for a true grassroots union representation, which CROM does not represent.

Initiative for Binational Labor Justice: Looking for Dignity of Migrant Workers

The Initiative for Bi-national Labor Justice aims to strengthen the work of organizations, unions, and US and Mexican social movements in the field of labor rights. Under the globalization paradigm, the rise in migration from Mexico to the United States, and the internal migration within Mexico to work for transnational companies requires new methods of coordinated actions to create better results.

Goals

• To develop a structure of support that permits and supports work together with groups from the United States and México who have common goals. Through these work groups, we hope to
• To create and share strategies and perspectives between the participants. Furthermore, it would permit us to start joint projects and actions for the defense and promotion of labor rights and the rights of community development that allow for more just living conditions in communities of origin.
• To train groups, organizations, activists, and other actors including women, marginalized groups, social movements, grassroots organizations and social justice defense organizations to use human rights as a tool to strengthen their work.
• To establish direct contacts between US and Mexican groups so that they can mutually strengthen and support the work of one another. This would include a variety of strategies including: the exchange of information, coordination of actions, development of common strategies, creation of new tools, and a union of national and international efforts.
• To facilitate the development of a collective bi-national voice regarding the overarching themes in labor rights.

History

On October 4-8, 2007, the first Bi-national Labor Justice Convening took place in México, D.F. The convening was organized by ProDesc and the Centro de los Derechos del Migrante, Inc. (CDM).

The Convening gathered 60 people (including participants, speakers and observers) from around 40 human rights organizations, academic centers, and unions.

The objective of the meeting was to promoting a dialogue between US and Mexican organizations and defenders in order to create integrated strategies that were more effective than isolated acts of solidarity. At the same time, the meeting closed the cultural and organizational gaps between the two countries in order to establish a mutual base of understanding and further strengthen the struggle for bi-national labor justice.

Participants identified a series of proposals for joint work, including, among others: the creation of a bi-national network, the elaboration of joint research documents, exchange of trainings between US and Mexican organizations, and workshops regarding labor legislation in both countries.

Investigation of labor conditions for female workers of Wal Mart México

Since 2006, ProDesc has undergone several investigations of labor rights violations committed by Wal-Mart against their workers.

During the last months of 2007, ProDesc finished two field investigations for a deeper understanding of the labor conditions of workers in Wal-Mart’s autoservice stores.

The first investigation concerned conditions of the underage worker population (children between 13 and 16 years old). The underage workers work as baggers and receive no salary nor are they protected by any labor right provided under Mexican law. The investigation involved interviews with 111 minors throughout the Mexico City area.

The second investigation focused on the labor conditions of female workers. ProDesc conducted 254 interviews of female workers in the transnational Wal-Mart in the Distrito Federal and eight states of the Mexican Republic: Mexico State, Puebla, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Querétaro, Guerrero, Tlaxcala and Morelos. The interviews took part principally in the autoservice sector, in the Super Center stores, and in the Bodega Aurrera stores. It also included interviews with workers in Sams Club, Vips, and Suburbia. The results of this investigation have given us a clearer panorama of their work conditions.

The principal violations noted by workers involved low salaries and large amounts of work for which they were not paid. Following up on the results of the investigation, we were able to identify several instances in which female workers were asked by their employers if they were pregnant in order to obtain their position. In several situations, workers were required to take a pregnancy test before starting work.

Currently, we maintain contact with several workers whom we will be recruiting for labor rights workshops that will take place in the upcoming year.

In ProDesc we believe it is fundamental to investigate the labor situation of these workers. We plan on using the support of national and international networkers to aid these workers and promote legislative change both within this year and for the long-run.