25 August, 2016500 redundancies in Arneses y Accesorios PKC Group, and 100 in Teksid: this is the current situation faced by workers in Mexico. Members of Los Mineros, an affiliate of IndustriALL, are struggling to get reinstated and put end to anti-union practices.
Both PKC and Teksid are notorious for union busting practices against workers who wish to be represented by a democratic union. The companies resort to all means including threats, suspensions and dismissals to intimidate and punish those who express their support for the union Los Mineros.
The Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores Mineros Metalúrgicos y Similares de la República Mexicana - better known Los Miners - is campaigning to win the next vote and become the workers’ representative in collective bargaining in both companies. Their adversary is the yellow union, the Confederation of Workers of Mexico (CTM).
On 12 August Los Mineros organized a peaceful demonstration near the plant and Arneses y Accesorios PKC in the city Acuna, Coahuila, and handed a letter to the Federal Board of Conciliation and Arbitration (JFCA). In the letter the union demanded that the 500 dismissed workers be reinstated and the company finally abide by the decision of the JFCA, which was in favour of workers who were made redundant back in 2012.
They also noted repeated threats and anti-union practices used by the transnational company in order to prevent workers from voting freely for the mining union.
"The government is protecting transnational corporations so that workers who struggle to improve their working conditions do not dare to raise their voice. This is why we hold our demonstration," said one of the union leaders during the demonstration.
Meanwhile, workers of Teksid Hierro, which is part of Fiat Chrysler Group, have been fighting since 2014 against abusive retaliation by the company to those who expressed their desire to join Los Mineros. On 15 August the company dismissed 100 workers and 100 others were suspended without a justified reason.
"We denounce these practices as violating human and labour rights. This attitude is wrong and with the sole intent to scare and intimidate other workers, to stop them voting for the national union Los Mineros in the upcoming election,” said Manuel Prince Duron, delegate of the National Executive Committee of Los Mineros in Monclova.
Deputy Secretary General of IndustriALL, Fernando Lopes concluded:
"IndustriALL continues our support for the workers in their campaign for their rights of association to be respected and to reinstate all unfairly dismissed workers. PKC and Teksid must respect international standards including the ILO Convention 87 on Freedom of Association."