• CHANGE: Around one third of Mexico’s workers unions have already modified their internal governing status to include among other things the right to elect their leaders through a personal, free, direct and secret vote, Mexican Labor Minister, Luisa María Alcalde said Thursday.
• NUMBERS: As required by Mexico’s new labor laws, labor unions have until January 2020 to file their new internal governing statutes with a total of 1,200 already made according to Minister Alcalde. Earlier this year, Mexico’s Government said there are 3,700 unions (only at the federal level).
• ADVICE: “This is the ideal time for unions to come back to workers. If they do not approach them and let this divorce to happen, they will not be able to overcome a query regarding the legitimacy of the contract or they will hardly be elected or they may be displaced”, said Alcalde on Wednesday.
• USMCA: The requirement for Mexican unions to begin a reform process towards more democratic and less opaque system was part of the commitments made by the Mexican government under the new trade agreement between US, Mexico and Canada (USMCA) signed in 2018.
