19 January, 2009
(Statement by International Metalworkers’ Federation) Union leaders representing the international labour movement met with Santiago Canton, Secretary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the OAS, in Washington, DC, to urge immediate action on Mexico and investigate gross labour and human rights violations carried out by the Mexican government against the National Miners and Metalworkers' Union of Mexico (SNTMMSRM).
Led by Marcello Malentacchi, general secretary of the International Metalworkers' Federation and Juan Luis Zuniga of the National Miners' and Metalworkers' Union of Mexico, the delegation included: international representatives for the United Auto Workers (UAW) and United Steelworkers (USW); Manfred Warda, general secretary of International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM); Stan Gacek of the AFL-CIO; Victor Baez, general secretary of the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA-ITUC); and petitioners Marco Del Toro and Luis Chavez from Del Toro Associates as legal representation to the Mexican miners' union. The high-level delegation put forward recommendations to the commission, among them, urging an immediate call on the Mexican government to:
■ return all frozen funds immediately to the SNTMMSRM, those seized in 2006 and in 2008;
■ lift all charges still pending against Napoleon Gómez Urrutia and other members of the SNTMMSRM;
■ prosecute in a court of law, immediately and transparently, all those responsible in the corruption of documents and facts; and
■ recognize Napoleon Gómez as the democratically elected general secretary of the National Mexican Miners and Metalworkers Union.
"This case constitutes an important precedent for this commission which will mark its position on all acts of political persecution which prevent a person from aspiring to adequate defense against the abuse of power by a State," read the amicus curiae letter submitted by the delegation in support of the complaint filed with the commission by the Mexican miners' union.
"The interference by the administrative authorities in judicial matters has thwarted any possibility of defense with a view to obtaining speedy verdicts in accordance with the law. The guarantee of due process has clearly been overtaken by the bias of the judicial authorities," the letter read.
The delegation also urged the commission to take immediate "precautionary measures" regarding the government's recent illegal seizure of all union accounts and funds; the government's refusal to officially recognize Napoleon Gómez Urrutia as elected general secretary of the miners' union; and health and safety issues of miners on strike at three mines owned by Grupo México, the largest and most powerful mining company in the country. "Precautionary measures" are measures for immediate action that the commission can take if there is a strong indication that irreparable harm may take place.
"Clearly this is of moral and strategic importance to us," said Stan Gacek, speaking on behalf of the American labour movement. "This is of significant importance to us at the national level, the regional level and the international level, as you can see given the representatives here. We have issues of irreparable harm here and we think that precautionary measures are absolutely critical."
Commissioner Santiago Canton thanked the delegation for their time and received the recommendations and evidence of human rights violations put forward by the international delegation of trade union leaders.