WASHINGTON (apro).– For the fifth time so far in 2023, the United States government asked the Mexican government to investigate the case of refusal of free union association and collective bargaining for workers at Industrias del Interior in Aguascalientes.
Katherine Tai, White House Special Trade Representative (USTR), reported that she asked the Mexican government to use the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (MLRR) established in the United States-Mexico Trade Agreement for the case. -Canada (USMCA).
“This announcement once again demonstrates the commitment of the government of President Joe Biden to use the MLRR to safeguard the rights of workers and the promises enshrined in the USMCA,” Tai said in a press release.
Since the North American tripartite agreement came into force, the investigation into Industrias del Interior marks the tenth time that the United States government has demanded that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador use the MLRR to defend affected workers.
Regarding the case of the clothing production plant in Aguascalientes, the USTR noted that on May 12 the US government received a request for intervention from the Authentic Labor Front and the Interior Industries Union.
The intervention argument maintains that Industrias del Interior (Inisa) denies its workers their labor rights, acts of interference are committed by the employers and coercion to accept the collective agreement proposed by the company.
The petition also argues that Inisa fails to comply with good faith in the negotiations of the collective contract of its workers, for which reason the Inter-Agency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement (ILC), one month after receiving the complaint, issues the demand to Mexico.
After a month of reviewing the complaint, as the TMEC marks, the ILC determined that “there is sufficient and credible evidence of the denial of workers’ rights”, for which reason the Mexican government is requested to intervene and use the MLRR .
“The USTR submitted a request to Mexico to find out if the Inisa workers are denied the rights of free association and collective bargaining and, if it agrees, it has a period of 45 days to conclude the investigation.” Tai finished.
