3 October, 2011The Miners' Union reports that workers at the Sierrita mine have been locked out and the site has been occupied by other workers, in a conspiracy between the government and the company. The union has called for the immediate withdrawal of the occupation force and called on the employer to respect the agreement reached in August.
MEXICO: On 28 September, a group of workers organised by Grupo Peñones occupied the La Sierrita mine in Mapimí, Durango. The mine is at a standstill and its 130 workers, all members of Branch 309 of the National Miners' Union led by Napoleón Gómez Urrutia, are waiting for the site to be vacated so they can continue working, said the union.
The union explained that the mine, which is owned by the Canadian company Excellon, San Pedro Resources, SA, "was seized by pro-management personnel organised by Carlos Pavón, alias La Marrana, from Zacatecas, and employed at the Naica mine in Chihuahua and the Torreón mine in Coahuila, which are not even from the area".
The union said: "we know that Pablo Gurrola, Excellon's human resources manager at the mine, is directly responsible for organising the occupation, and it is therefore a completely illegal lockout". The union also denounced the government's complicity with Grupo Peñones and pointed out that heavily armed federal troops have been deployed in support of the illegal occupation.
Workers at the Excellon mine have been involved in a hard struggle to defend their human and labour rights since 2010. The company dismissed and harassed workers after Branch 309 of the union was formed and workers asked the company to recognise the branch and negotiate a collective agreement. The workers went on strike in August of this year and the union reached an agreement with the company on 18 August, after mediation by the Durango State governor, Jorge Herrera Caldera, and senior Labour Department officials. The agreement recognised the union branch and opened up the way for further negotiations on a collective agreement.
Excellon is violating the Mexican Constitution, the Federal Labour Law, the autonomy and freedom of association of workers of Branch 309 at Sierrita and ILO Convention 87, which establishes the freedom of association and was signed by Mexico in 1960.
The miners are calling on the company to honour the agreement reached in August and to comply with Mexican legislation and ILO Convention 87, and immediately end the illegal occupation of the La Sierrita mine. The union holds the Minister of Labour, Javier Lozano Alarcón, Excellon and the state and federal police and security forces deployed at the site, responsible for the occupation and any ensuing acts of violence and disorder.