The Government of Mexico has reported that the dispute at Grupo México's San Martín mine falls outside the scope of application of TMEC's Action Mechanism for Rapid Response (MLRR), which is why it will be resolved in the country's judicial bodies.
Thus, the Mexican administration rejected a request from Washington to review the labor dispute at a mine located in Sombririti, in the state of Zacatecas, under the Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada (TMEC).
The Ministries of Economy, Labor and Welfare indicated that they had sent to the United States Government the results of the investigation into the alleged deprivation of rights at the expense of the National Union of Mining, Metallurgy, Steel and Similar Workers of the Mexican Republic by Grupo Mexico, operator of the San Martín mine.
In the findings, the agencies argued that the labor dispute at the mine in question occurred before the Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada (TMEC) entered into force in 2020.
According to the deposits, The conflict at the San Martin mine dates back to July 2007, when the miners' union went on strike.
After 16 years of litigation, the Federal Council for Conciliation and Arbitration (JFCA) issued a decision on June 9, annulling the agreement issued by that same body on August 23, 2018, which had ended the strike through an agreement signed between Grupo Mexico and the workers' coalition.
Days later, on 14 June, the JFCA resolved the strike attribution issue and issued a decision in favor of the mining union, which recognized it as the collective contract holder.
For this reason, it declared Grupo México liable for causing the strike and ordered it to pay lost wages and benefits, thus ending the work stoppage.
Grupo México confirmed that Napoleon Gomez Urrutia, leader of the mining union, promoted complaints about obstacles to freedom of association for personal purposes.
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“From the results of the investigation conducted by the Government of Mexico into the alleged deprivation of rights, it is clear that the conflict is outside the scope of the law. The agencies explained that the scope of application of the Anti-Money Laundering and Risk Control Law is in accordance with the principle of non-retroactivity of the law.
In addition, they pointed out that there is no evidence that the aforementioned mine exports goods to the United States.
“The Government of Mexico has concluded that the dispute at the San Martin mine in Sombririti, Zacatecas, is close to final resolution in Mexican jurisdictions because it falls outside the scope of application of the United States-Mexico-Canada Convention on Money Laundering and Waste, and reiterates its commitment to ensuring respect for and To “comply with the rights of Mexican workers in accordance with national laws and authorities.”
On June 16, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) asked the Mexican government to review whether San Martin miners were being deprived of their rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining.
As US Trade Representative Katherine Tai noted, the US Trade Representative received a complaint from the AFL-CIO, the largest labor union in the United States and Canada, and the mining union led by Gomez Urrutia.
The petition claimed that Grupo México had resumed activity in San Martín despite a strike by its workers, and that it had negotiated with a group of workers even though the power to represent them at the collective level was in the hands of the mining union.
With information from EFE
