Posted: Thursday, 13 May 2010

Free trade unions in Mexico continue to suffer from heavy-handed government actions, demonstrating the failure of the labour side agreement to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to raise labour standards in Mexico.

Returning from a visit to Mexico in early May where he met with Canada’s ambassador to Mexico regarding the government interference in the internal democracy of National Union of Miners and Metalworkers – Los Mineros, CLC president Ken Georgetti remarked, “the Mexican government's callous disregard for the well-being of their citizens violates the spirit of NAFTA and makes a mockery out of the North American Agreement on Labour Cooperation”.

The Mexican government has engaged in a campaign to overthrow the democratically elected leadership of the mineworkers union, including jailing union leaders without charge, filing dubious fraud charges against the union’s general secretary, Napoleon Gomez. Gomez has been living in Canada since fleeing Mexico in 2006 fearing for his safety and that of his family. He was removed by government officials as leader of Los Mineros following his demand for an investigation into the explosion at the Pasta de Conchos coal mine that killed 65 mine workers in February 2006. Their bodies have never been recovered.

In July 2007, the union began a strike at the Cananea copper mine in northern Mexico against the mine’s owner Grupo México. The long and bitter strike continues today, almost three years later. Georgetti visited the striking mineworkers at Cananea and noted that corporate greed knows no borders. Grupo México chair, German Larrea Mota Velasco, is number 72 on the Forbes list of the world’s billionaires.

“Canada’s labour movement stands behind Los Mineros and their struggle to maintain their democratic union free from government interference" said Georgetti, as he wrapped up his solidarity visit at Cananea.