US seeks trade panel to fix labour issues at Mexican mine
Grupo Mexico has been the subject of a long-running dispute over workers’ rights, which the US hopes to resolve under USMCA.
Grupo Mexico has been the subject of a long-running dispute over workers’ rights, which the US hopes to resolve under USMCA.
Grupo Mexico is the subject of a long-running labour dispute.
Image by T. Schneider via Shutterstock
The US Government has requested a dispute-settlement panel for Grupo Mexico’s San Martin mine, with hope of resolving long-term labour issues there.
This follows news from June when the US requested that Mexico reviewed allegations of worker rights abuses at the mine, under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). However, Mexico declined to investigate, claiming the matter did not warrant review under the trade deal.
Under the USMCA, companies can be sanctioned if labour complaints are not dealt with quickly. In a statement on Tuesday, Mexico’s economy ministry argued that the case should be excluded, as it had already been reviewed by the national authorities.
The Mexican union that represents mine workers, The Miners, has claimed that Grupo Mexico violated a worker’s strike when it resumed operations at the San Martin mine, as well as negotiated with workers who did not have the right to represent them. If true, this would be a violation of Mexican law, which bars companies from normal operation while strike action takes place. A letter from the US government to Mexican officials stated that workers “are being denied the right of free association and collective bargaining.”
Grupo Mexico has broadly denied the allegations of worker rights violations, and in a statement on Tuesday claimed that the panel would vindicate them.
“For the San Martin mine it is important to put a final period to this chapter that unfortunately has hurt many workers and their families for more than 15 years,” Grupo Mexico said, adding that “no strike continues (at the mine) since the will of the workers is to continue working.”
Grupo Mexico is one of the world’s largest copper producers, with the San Martin mine also containing lead, zinc, and silver.
The US Government has requested a dispute-settlement panel for Grupo Mexico’s San Martin mine, with hope of resolving long-term labour issues there.
This follows news from June when the US requested that Mexico reviewed allegations of worker rights abuses at the mine, under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). However, Mexico declined to investigate, claiming the matter did not warrant review under the trade deal.
Under the USMCA, companies can be sanctioned if labour complaints are not dealt with quickly. In a statement on Tuesday, Mexico’s economy ministry argued that the case should be excluded, as it had already been reviewed by the national authorities.
The Mexican union that represents mine workers, The Miners, has claimed that Grupo Mexico violated a worker’s strike when it resumed operations at the San Martin mine, as well as negotiated with workers who did not have the right to represent them. If true, this would be a violation of Mexican law, which bars companies from normal operation while strike action takes place. A letter from the US government to Mexican officials stated that workers “are being denied the right of free association and collective bargaining.”
Grupo Mexico has broadly denied the allegations of worker rights violations, and in a statement on Tuesday claimed that the panel would vindicate them.
“For the San Martin mine it is important to put a final period to this chapter that unfortunately has hurt many workers and their families for more than 15 years,” Grupo Mexico said, adding that “no strike continues (at the mine) since the will of the workers is to continue working.”
Grupo Mexico is one of the world’s largest copper producers, with the San Martin mine also containing lead, zinc, and silver.
Bloomberg News | August 22, 2023 |
Image courtesy of Grupo Mexico
The US is asking a panel to review a labor dispute at a mine in Mexico owned by billionaire German Larrea.
US Trade Representative Katherine Tai in June had asked Mexico to review whether employees at a Grupo Mexico SAB mine in Zacatecas were being denied the right of free association and collective bargaining.
Mexico had a 45-day review period and found no denial of rights, according to a USTR statement released Tuesday.
“The US disagrees with this determination,” it said, and is asking for a panel to review the situation. It’s the first time ever the US has requested a Rapid Response Labor Mechanism panel under the US, Mexico, Canada free trade agreement (USMCA), the USTR said.
Grupo Mexico said the panel review will prove the company hasn’t violated labor rights at the mine and that it hasn’t prevented its workers from having “decent work and to join the union of their choice.”
The company, owned by Larrea, also operates railroads throughout Mexico. In May, the Mexican government seized a section of its freight railway, ultimately prompting Larrea to scrap a bid to buy one of the country’s biggest retail banks from Citigroup Inc.
Larrea is worth $31.4 billion, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index. Mexico’s Economy Ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The USTR in June said it had received a request from unions in the US and Mexico alleging Grupo Mexico had resumed operations at the San Martin mine despite an ongoing strike. The company also engaged in collective bargaining with a workers’ coalition even though a different union holds the right to represent workers, according to the request.
Grupo Mexico said in its statement there’s no strike going on and that mining workers want to continue operating.
Back in June, Tai directed the Treasury Secretary to suspend the final settlement of customs accounts related to the entries of goods from San Martin’s lead, zinc and copper mine.
(By Andrea Navarro, with assistance from Amy Stillman and Eric Martin
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