15 February, 2011Unions from IMF, ICEM, ITF, UNI and ITUC kick off rallies and embassy visits in some 30 countries as part of the Global Days of Action campaign.
GLOBAL: Actions around the world have begun, marking the Global Days of Action for trade union rights in Mexico, February 14-19. Support the campaign now by writing to the Mexican government through the LabourStart campaign here.
Jyrki Raina, General Secretary of the International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF), kicked off six days of actions in Australia at the Australian Workers' Union (AWU) National Conference today, February 15, 2011.
"The Mexican government must end its campaign of political persecution against independent and democratic unions in Mexico," said Raina, speaking to the assembly of over 500 unionists gathered in Queensland.
On February 14, an international trade union delegation met with the Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Mr. Gomez Camacho, to deliver the demands of the global campaign. Some 60 labour activists turned out.
Manfred Warda, International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) General Secretary, Fernando Lopes, Assistant General Secretary of the IMF, and Adriana Rosenzvaig, SCORE Director at UNI, met inside with the Ambassador while a demonstration continued outside the Mission.
Warda said the one-hour-and-twenty-minute meeting proved that Camacho had been briefed on the manifestation's purpose. "The only issue he was not familiar with is protection contracts in Mexico," said Warda. "We had to explain how these contracts infringe on genuine trade union rights."
Rallies and meetings with Mexican Ambassadors will be conducted simultaneously in over 30 countries this week, in a coordinated effort by unions affiliated to the ICEM, IMF, UNI Global Union, the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). The global actions coincide with the fifth anniversary of the deaths of 65 miners at the Pasta de Conchos mine disaster in Mexico on February 19, 2006.
In Mexico itself, unions held a press conference on February 14 and will be holding various actions across the country throughout the week to highlight the systematic abuse of trade union rights by the Mexican government.
For actions taken around the world, click here.
For campaign materials, click here.