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Good morning and thank you for being here so early in the morning.
I am Irasema Garza, Secretary of the U.S. National Administrative
Office, and I will conduct today's hearing.
The purpose of the hearing is to gather information for the NAO's review
of a complaint concerning lack of enforcement of labor laws in Mexico. The
events giving rise to the submission occurred at the ITAPSA export processing
plant in Ciudad de los Reyes in the State of Mexico. ITAPSA is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Echlin Inc. of Branford, Conn. The submitters allege that when
workers at the facility attempted to organize an independent union, they faced
intimidation and harassment from the company and the existing union, the
Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM), including threats of physical violence
and job loss. Workers at the plant were concerned about poor safety and health
conditions. Approximately 50 workers reportedly have been fired for supporting
the union.
Specifically, the submission alleges that Mexico failed to enforce its
laws protecting the right of workers to organize unions and ensuring workers'
safety and health. The submission was filed under the North American Agreement
on Labor Cooperation (NAALC), often referred to as the labor supplemental
agreement to NAFTA.
Under the NAALC, the United States, Canada and Mexico commit themselves
to the enforcement of their own labor laws and agree to promote 11 fundamental
labor principles, including freedom of association, the right to bargain
collectively and the prevention of occupational illnesses and injuries.
This is the ninth submission the U.S. NAO has accepted for review.
The North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation ensures that labor
rights and enforcement of those rights is an obligation under an international
trade agreement. This is the first time the United States has executed an
international trade agreement which includes core labor standards.
The NAALC does not provide for the adjudication of individual cases.
None of the three signatory countries surrendered any sovereignty under the
agreement, and the agreement does not supersede domestic labor law. This review
process, however, does provide oversight for monitoring enforcement of labor
laws in each country, which leads to public debate, international scrutiny and
transparency. Your presence here today and the overall media coverage of NAO
activities attest to that.
In regard to Mexico, the NAO review process under the agreement has
contributed to an unprecedented level of scrutiny of Mexican labor law and has
added significantly to debates already occurring within Mexican society. Since
the agreement went into effect, there have been a number of significant
developments on labor issues in Mexico:
- Two Mexican Supreme Court decisions and one Appeals Court decision
have been issued which should favor the right of workers in Mexico to organize
into the unions of their choice.
- Policy guidelines adopted by the Secretariat of Labor and Social
Welfare have been issued to improve implementation of labor law in Mexico.
- The Government of Mexico has earmarked significant additional
financial resources to labor law enforcement activities.
- International public scrutiny can provide a bully pulpit. The U.S.
NAO has information that a number of labor disputes in Mexico have been settled
because the companies involved did not want to be subjected to the publicity
resulting from a review.
In short, the NAO process is working.
Archived News Release Caution: Information may be out of date.
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