Supporting Freedom of Association in Mexico

Legitimating collective bargaining agreements in Mexico: What have we learned to date?

MSN’s latest Briefing Paper on Mexico’s labour justice reform assesses the process for legitimizing existing collective bargaining agreements, a four-year process initiated in 2019. All existing CBAs in Mexico must be subjected to a vote for the workers’ approval by May 1, 2023.

The 31-page report critically examines how the votes are organized and implemented, why most have been in favour of existing CBAs, how government oversight could be improved, and the need for greater transparency in public reporting.

Mexico’s CBA Legitimation Vote Results: September 2019-April 2021

To better understand and analyze the process for the legitimation of existing collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) required by Mexico’s labour justice reform, MSN compiled a database of all contract legitimation votes for the two-year period when the Secretariat of Labour and Social Welfare (STPS) was charged with overseeing the process. The research published by MSN also provides publicly available information that is not easily accessible on the government’s legitimation portal.

GM Silao workers reject protection contract

Legitimation vote at GM assembly plant in Silao.
(Photo: Secretaría del Trabajo y Previsión Social - Mexico)

In a precedent-setting test of Mexico’s labour justice reform, workers at the General Motors (GM) truck assembly plant in Silao, Guanajuato have voted to reject a protection contract between their employer and the Miguel Trujillo López union, an affiliate of the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM). 

Report analyzes collective bargaining agreements in Mexico’s garment sector from a gender perspective

A new report by three Mexican labour rights experts, Inés González Nicolás, Gabino Jiménez Velasco and Andrea García, analyzes 68 collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) in Mexico’s garment industry from a gender perspective.

The report, entitled Collective Bargaining Agreements in Mexico’s Apparel Industry, as well as a 13-page summary, are available in Spanish and English.

Fighting COVID and defending workers’ rights in Northern Mexico

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit Mexico hard. As of mid-November, the country has almost one million confirmed positive cases and over 95,000 official deaths. Since the pandemic started, maquila factories in the northern states experienced waves of infections among workers, with little protection provided by factory owners and management.

Pages