MEXICO CITY, Might 2 (Reuters) – 1000's of pro-business union contracts in Mexico are set to run out as Mexico ends a historic marketing campaign to wipe out offers between employers and unions cozy with administration which have saved wages low, a key dedication beneath a North American commerce deal.
Of 139,000 collective contracts in Mexico, unions will finally intention to ratify 33,000, or a couple of quarter, through employee votes, a requirement to maintain them lively, Labor Minister Luisa Alcalde mentioned on Tuesday, hours after a ultimate deadline.
The rest will dissolve, though employees will preserve the identical pay and advantages.
Mexico dedicated to eliminating these so-called “safety contracts” beneath the United States-Mexico-Canada Settlement (USMCA), a commerce pact that changed the 1994 NAFTA.
Labor authorities anticipated unions to forego holding votes for many contracts, largely as a result of many have been designed to guard firm pursuits and had no employee backing or lively unions.
“That is historic, as a result of we lastly managed to rid the labor market of faux contracts and faux unions,” Labor Minister Alcalde mentioned in an interview.
“That is all about having good representatives to defend employee rights and acquire higher advantages and salaries.”
Because the vote course of started 4 years in the past, employees have solid ballots on some 20,000 contracts in sectors spanning autos, retail and mining. The remaining 13,000 votes are scheduled via July, though some unions might pull out.
Solely about 400 contracts have to this point been voted down, which some consultants see as an indication of battle of curiosity within the union-run votes.
The Impartial Mexico Labor Knowledgeable Board, a U.S. advisory committee, mentioned in March the small variety of rejected contracts “raises critical doubts in regards to the credibility” of the method.
The Labor Ministry final month accused a strong union of stealing ballots throughout a vote at a Goodyear tire plant, echoing related allegations at automaker Basic Motors in 2021, which led to the primary USMCA labor grievance.
Alcalde mentioned she expects unions to intention to ascertain new contracts instead of ones that have been canceled.
“The very first thing is they should persuade employees that they are going to symbolize them higher,” she mentioned.
Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon; Enhancing by Stephen Coates
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