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28 February, 2013IndustriALL Global Union’s Swedish-based affiliate IF Metall, representing 370,000 blue collar workers in mining, metal, chemical and textile sectors, marked the international days of action for trade union rights in Mexico with a comprehensive meeting with the Mexican Ambassador to Sweden, Jorge Lomónaco, and a strong letter to President Peña Nieto, putting forward demands in line with the international campaign.
In the mid-March meeting at the Mexican Embassy, IF Metall’s President Anders Ferbe expressed Swedish workers' concern with the situation of trade union rights in Mexico and brought up a number of key issues facing democratic unions in Mexico.
Concrete exchanges were conducted on issues including the sham criminal proceedings keeping Napoleon Gomez in exile in Canada; the problematic 1 December 2012 reformed Labour Law; the need to ensure transparency in union accounts and to protect workers’ rights to form their own unions; the claims of the Mexican Government to have positively addressed the June 2012 recommendations from the ILO committee on Freedom of Association in relation to Protection Contracts; as well as the question about Mexico’s eventual ratification of ILO convention 98; regarding the follow up to the Pasta de Conchos tragedy, unfortunately the Ambassador could not confirm any steps to resolve the pending issues.
IF Metall has engaged the dialogue with the Ambassador and will continue to monitor the workers’ rights in Mexico.
See the letter to Mexican President Peña Nieto from IF Metall President Anders Ferbe here.