Workers and activists who challenge this system can face harassment, arrest and violence, the report says. American labor advocates have recently pointed to the case of Susana Prieto Terrazas, a Mexican labor activist who was arrested on charges of trying to organize workers in the state of Tamaulipas in June, shortly before the new trade pact took effect.
As part of a labor law passed last year, Mexico is setting up independent labor courts and monitors, and trying to recertify hundreds of thousands of collective bargaining agreements between companies and their employees by secret votes before May 1, 2023, among other provisions.
In its first report, the board commended the Mexican government for continuing its efforts to expand labor rights despite the scale of the undertaking and the complications of the coronavirus pandemic. However, it identified “a number of serious concerns” with the enforcement of Mexico’s new labor law that it said must be promptly addressed.
It said that most unionized workers were not yet able to democratically elect their leaders; that the old system of protection contracts remains intact; and that workers who have tried to challenge these conditions have been fired, jailed or killed.
The report adds that the pace of approval of new collective bargaining agreements is far behind where it should be, and that the process of setting up independent courts and monitors has been hampered by missed deadlines and a lack of resources. It also calls for more funding to help Mexicans set up independent unions and to build the capacity of Mexican labor inspectors to enforce the new labor rules.
“Many of the changes promised to improve the lives of workers, in terms of union democracy, freedom of association and collective bargaining, remain to be implemented,” the report concludes.
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/15/business/economy/usmca-mexico-labor-reforms.html
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