The invisibility of trade unionism in the human rights agenda: Towards a reform of Mexico’s human rights protection mechanisms to include trade unionists and labour activists
This report analyzes cases of violence against trade unionists and labour activists in Mexico. It examines the repression of freedom of association and genuine collective bargaining, despite being fundamental rights under Mexico’s legal system, and how this occurs in relation to employer interests and the intervention or lack of intervention of the authorities.
Through qualitative research using primary and secondary sources, including interviews with leaders and activists from the independent trade union movement who experienced violence, it seeks to demonstrate that pro-employer protection unionism continues to be prevalent, despite Mexico’s labour reforms of 2019. This has led independent unions to seek the protection of international mechanisms, including the Rapid Response Labour Mechanism of the Canada United States Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), for cases in covered sectors. This report analyzes six specific and paradigmatic cases across several states, characterized by their integration into international supply chains: automotive, tires, binational transportation and mining. This analysis enables an understanding of how anti-union violence has unfolded on the ground, as well as the role of unionists in the defense of their rights and that of their coworkers.
The objective is to make visible the need for the Mexican State to provide protection measures for defenders of labour rights, recognizing them as human rights for their enforceability. To this end, the report also includes a case study of the current system of protection measures for unionists in Colombia, whose lessons are useful for the development of an effective system, while also acknowledging its limitations.
The report proposes the creation of a National Protocol for the Protection of Trade Unionists and Labour Rights Defenders in Mexico, coordinated by an Inter-institutional Immediate Reaction Table for High-Risk Labour Disputes.
This report is also available in Spanish.
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