22 November, 2012IndustriALL demands compliance with court protection order granted to the Mexican Union of Electricity Workers.
The Mexican Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Board is refusing to comply with the court protection order obtained by the Mexican Union of Electricity Workers (Sindicato Mexicano de Electricistas, SME) in September this year, in the latest episode in a bitter labour dispute that has been going on since 2010. In response, trade unions have acted in solidarity with SME by writing to the Mexican courts demanding compliance with the order.
International trade unions, including IndustriALL Global Union, have declared their solidarity with the Mexican Union of Electricity Workers (SME) in response to the Mexican Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Board’s refusal to comply with the court protection order granted to SME members.
On 13 September this year, after three years of a bitter dispute and a prolonged court case, the Second Collegiate Labour Court of the First Circuit issued an order protecting the rights of the 16,599 members of SME who did not accept the termination of their employment contracts and ordered their reinstatement as employees of the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), the company that replaced their former employer.
In August 2010, their individual employment contracts with the state-owned electricity supply company Luz y Fuerza del Centro (LyFC) were cancelled as was the collective agreement between that company and the SME. Their right to the automatic transferral of their employment contract to the CFE was also refused.
The Board has refused to comply with the court order and the Administration and Transfer of Goods Service (Servicio de Administración y Enajenación de Bienes, SAE) has filed an appeal with the Supreme Court in order to block the order.
SME has called for solidarity and a mass letter-writing campaign to the SAE, demanding it complies with the order.
IndustriALL Global Union has written to the Supreme Court of Mexico expressing its solidarity with and support for the SME and highlighting the “attempts to oppose the Judiciary by using political pressures and legal manoeuvres to avoid compliance with the order issued by the Second Collegiate Labour Court, leaving the aggrieved workers who are fighting for their right to a dignified life and recognition of their historical labour conquests in a legally defenceless and socially precarious position”.