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17 May, 2010
The ICEM participated in the 36th Ordinary Congress of the Mexican National Miners' and Metalworkers' Union (SNTMMSRM), known as Los Mineros, in Mexico City, 3-4 May. Also included in the international delegation were ICEM affiliates, the United Steelworkers (USW), the Canadian Office and Professional Employees’ Union (COPE) of British Colombia, and Ken Georgetti, President of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), and the International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF).
The ICEM intervention called, on behalf of all affiliates, for Grupo México and President Felipe Calderón to find a negotiated and peaceful end to the conflict at the Cananea mine.
Napoleón Gómez Urrutia addressed the Congress through video conferencing, and was greeted with enthusiastic chants of “Napo, Napo, Napo.” He was endorsed by members to serve as General Secretary for another four-year term. Napoleón Gómez is leading the union from exile in Vancouver, Canada, while sham criminal charges against him are still pursued by Grupo México and Calderón. Gómez continues to receive death threats in Vancouver.
A press conference that followed the Congress decried the efforts of Grupo México and the Mexican government to form a yellow union and undermine Los Mineros. CLC President Ken Georgetti stated that Canadian workers would take action if the Mexico did not scale back its attacks on Mexican workers and unions soon, adding that the Canadian government must step up its pressure on Calderón, and the CLC will be calling on them to do so.
The international delegation moved from the Congress in Mexico City to the Reclusio Norte prison on the outskirts of the city, to visit Los Mineros official Juan Linares, imprisoned since 2008, when he was arrested at an airport on his return from a labour conference in British Colombia. Mexico’s law courts have dismissed the charges against Juan Linares, but he is forced to remain in prison while the Calderón government files appeals.
Linares has held firm in his loyalty to his sisters and brothers in Los Mineros. He told the visiting delegation that while in prison, representatives of Grupo México have visited him and offered 5 million Mexican pesos (US$400,000) in return for him denouncing Napoleón Gómez and Los Mineros. Linares was also offered to freely leave the prison with his money, in return for this statement. He refused and remains in jail. “I will walk out of here with my dignity,” he stated.
From Reclusio Norte, the delegation went to the Cananea copper mine where some 1,200 striking workers at Cananea in the northern Sonora state have occupied the Grupo Mexico mine for over 1,000 days. The visiting delegation was welcomed by hundreds of striking Los Mineros Section 65 workers and their families. Receiving special mention at the Cananea conflict are the “Mujeres de Los Mineros” of the community, women who are seen as the backbone of the solidarity and of the striking community.
The company has also lodged numerous lawsuits against the striking workers and strike leaders for alleged damage at the mine. The union has asked Grupo México to withdraw those actions, and instead negotiate a revised collective agreement with Los Mineros that will raise salaries and benefits, and improve safety and hygiene, chief among reasons why miners struck in the first place.
Recently there have been some major breakthroughs in the campaign, finally getting the attention of the US government. When Calderón comes soon to the US and Canada, demonstrations and actions are planned. USW President Leo Gerard and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka have had two meetings with the Mexican Minister of Labour, and Gerard has been invited by US President Barack Obama to a state dinner “in honor” of Calderón.
Grupo México reported profits of US$348million for the first quarter of 2010.