Season's greetings from Tijuana to Wall Street and all the other<br>stock exchanges

Last week the Executive Committee of the International Metalworkers' Federation visited the maquiladoras in Mexico. Of course there was no question of visiting a plant. As trade unionists, we had been denied access. Instead, we went to meet the workers where they live, in the so-called "residential areas". We met mostly women. Not because they stay at home and do not work, but because they work 12-hour-long nightshifts. Yes, 12 hours for four nights and "only" six hours the fifth night - altogether 54 night hours per week. All of those whom we talked to had come to Tijuana from southern Mexico, where living and working conditions are even worse than in the maquila districts of the north. The transnational companies in the maquilas know that, and this is the reason they can continue to exploit workers. With a weekly salary of about US$50, workers have lots of difficulty just to survive... and this is supposed to be one of the richest regions in Mexico. Most of the workers and their families live in wooden shanties, providing poor and fragile shelter. There's no electricity, no running water. Drinking water is only available from the shops at a relatively high price, and people must spend a disproportionate amount of their wages just to buy it. Drinking water is a basic human right that should be provided to everyone on this Earth by the community. The people in the communities around the maquilas are also exposed to an array of environmental hazards. An abandoned battery plant with tons of visible residue from lead, nickel and cadmium contaminates the small river that runs through the community at the bottom of the hill. And there is no union to protect them... only "protection contracts" signed by transnational companies and the mafia, which collects dues without the workers knowing it. It hurts to see kids jumping and playing in this environment. They are not waiting for Santa Claus. They are waiting for social justice and an opportunity to make a living. They dream of earning money to buy the things their parents are producing and which are exported to other countries to make other people happy. Merry Christmas to everybody.