Under US pressure, Mexico orders GM to repeat workers’ vote on automotive news

Mexican authorities have ordered the General Motors (GM) Co union in the city of Silao to repeat the workers ’vote to correct alleged abuses that could violate a new trade agreement for automakers after pressure from U.S. lawmakers.

The Mexican Labor Ministry said on Tuesday that it had found “serious irregularities” in last month’s vote, saying Mexican labor reform required workers not to be tied to contracts signed on their backs and to keep wages low.

Such votes are part of Mexico’s broad effort to defend workers ’rights within the North American Free Trade Agreement or the new free trade agreement that represents NAFTA.

Concerns about GM have surfaced in recent days amid several complaints of labor abuses in Mexico as U.S. activists and politicians begin to flex new powers to enforce labor rules south of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement (USMCA).

The largest U.S. workers ’federation, the AFL-CIO, on Monday asked the U.S. government to file a complaint under the USMCA over Tridonex, a car parts company in the Mexican city of Matamoros, where workers were barred from electing an independent union. .

Potential abuses

In the GM case, some votes were destroyed in a union-led vote, the Mexican Ministry of Labor found. He also said the union, which is part of the powerful Mexican Workers ’Confederation (CTM), has refused to provide labor inspectors with documentation of the amount of votes.

U.S. representatives Dan Kildee, Bill Pascrell and Earl Blumenauer, all Democrats, called on GM to answer questions about potential abuses.

The largest U.S. carmaker “has a responsibility to work at the Silao GM plant and speak out in the face of human rights violations,” they said in a letter to GM CEO Mary Barra.

Lawmakers have also cited news reports that GM officials have removed independent auditors, among other intimidation tactics aimed at employees.

GM has denied the wrongs and said government-approved inspectors have not prevented them from entering the voting site. He said he condemns labor rights violations and has hired a third-party company to look into the matter.

The GM union is due to hold a new vote within 30 days, the ministry said after the initial vote “violated the principles of safety and security”.

Hugo Varela, head of the CTM in Guanajuato state, where the Silao plant is located, did not respond to a request for comment on the Ministry of Labor’s order. He previously said the CTM was committed to complying with the law and maintaining jobs in Mexico.

A spokesman for the U.S. Trade Representative’s office declined to comment on the GM.

Confirm workers’ rights

The vote, which employs about 6,000 people in Silaon, was debated, just days before GM said it would invest $ 1 billion in a complex to manufacture electric vehicles in Mexico, sparking criticism from United Auto Workers.

Brian Rothenberg, a UAW spokesman, told Reuters separately this week that he was “concerned and had the right discussions” about the Mexican vote.

In addition, Geneva-based Industrial Global Unions and Toronto-based Unifor in a letter to GM President Mark Reuss said last week that the incident violated the USMCA and that GM had asked for workers to be protected.

Jerry Dias, president of Unifor, described the situation as “angry” and said he would look into “all available avenues” to protect the rights of Mexican workers, including conflict resolution tools, according to the USMCA.

The Biden administration is prioritizing the implementation of commitments in US trade agreements with US partners. Democrats and American unions put in place strong labor rules and enforcement mechanisms for Mexico as a key demand came into force in July to get support for the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement. They were concerned that the treaty represented by the USMCA was not in those provisions.