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11 December, 2006
The International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF) has marked today, 11 December, as an international Day of Action in support of Napoleon Gómez Urrutia, the trade union official from the Mexican National Miners and Metalworkers’ Union (SNTMMSRM) who has been removed by the federal government.
The IMF’s “Call for Justice” campaign includes demonstrations and actions at Mexican embassies and consulates throughout the world, backing up a mass march in Mexico City and industrial actions around the country.
Gómez, who was elected General Secretary of SNTMMSRM in 2002, was unpopular with a large part of the ruling elite as he organised a free and democratic union.
On 19 February 2006, an explosion occurred at the Grupo México’s Pasta de Conchos coal mine in the northern Mexican State of Coahuilla. Information on the cause of the explosion, which killed 65 miners, including 40 contract workers, was scarce and inconsistent. Gómez then termed the disaster an “industrial homicide” and charged both company and government safety officials with neglect for Mexico’s worst mine tragedy this year.
Just two days before the explosion, the Mexican government had “withdrawn recognition” of Gómez as General Secretary of the union, after it received an unauthenticated request from supposed members of the union’s Vigilance and Justice Committee to remove him.
Gómez was accused of corruption in relation to a trust fund, and removed from his post by the Labour Ministry. He was replaced by Elias Morales, a person close not only to officials inside the Labour Ministry, but also to officials of Grupo México. Many members of SNTMMSRM refuse to accept the allegations against Gómez, and numerous strikes broke out in support of him. During a police intervention in one such strike in April, two miners were killed.
The facts behind the fraud and corruption case appear to be inconsistent. For example, one of the suspicious and alleged unauthorised transfers of money abroad was the payment of affiliation fees to the IMF. The IMF is calling for “efforts to be made to inform the public about the use of the trust fund.”
The removal of Napoleon Gómez from his post is clearly a breach of the union’s autonomy and needs to be seen as a violation of the ILO Convention No. 87 on freedom of association, which has been ratified by Mexico. Any decision to remove the trade union leader from duty is up to the SNTMMSRM and its democratic structures.
Napoleon Gómez has the active support of ICEM North American affiliate United Steelworkers (USW). In a press communication last month, the USW stated, “The government of Mexico violated the NAFTA labour side agreement when it removed the leader of the National Mineworkers’ Union from office.” The USW has had a solidarity pact with the Mexican Mineworkers since 2004, and solidly supports the return of Gómez to his rightful union leadership position.
More information, including a report of a fact-finding mission to Mexico, can be found on the IMF’s website at this link: http://www.imfmetal.org/main/index.cfm?n=47&l=2&c=14233.