Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2015, published 105th ILC session (2016)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Mexico (Ratification: 1950)

Article 2 of the Convention. Registration of trade unions. The Committee notes that, in response to the observations of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) alleging that there would be no adequate legal remedies if the report of the inspectors of the Secretariat of Labour and Social Welfare resulted in the refusal to include the trade union in the register of associations, the Government clarifies that the Federal Labour Act (LFT) does not make the registration of trade unions contingent on a report of the labour inspectorate. The Government adds that the Secretariat of Labour and Social Welfare, as the registering authority, only conducts formal verifications, but cannot investigate irregularities in the information submitted, which is the responsibility of the judicial authorities, at the initiative of any persons who consider that their rights have been prejudiced.

The Committee also notes the allegations of obstacles to the registration and recognition of trade unions contained in the observations of IndustriALL Global Union (IndustriALL) and the National Trade Union of Workers in the Iron, Steel and Allied Products Industry (SNTIHAPDSC). The Committee requests the Government to send its comments on these allegations.

Article 3. Accreditation of elected trade union representatives. The Committee notes the observations of the ITUC and IndustriALL indicating that the “note-taking” procedure (whereby elected trade union leaders are required in order to take office to obtain a certificate from labour authorities attesting that the elections were held in accordance with the statutes of the trade union) continues to give rise to many abuses restricting the freedom of workers to elect their representatives, even though the Supreme Court of Justice has restricted the scope of this procedure through its case law. Noting the Government’s indication that the authorities conduct a formal verification checking the stages of the election procedure and merely confirming that an election has been held, the Committee requests the Government to submit this issue to tripartite discussion with a view to considering any measures that may be necessary to ensure that the existing procedures offer effective guarantees in practice of the right to elect trade union representatives in full freedom.

Article 3. Right of workers’ organizations to organize their activities and formulate their programmes. In its previous comments, the Committee recalled that workers’ organizations in credit institutions should be able to participate in the determination of minimum services. The Committee notes the Government’s explanations that workers’ organizations, as well as employers and public authorities, are fully represented in the determination of the minimum services to be maintained in the event of a strike in credit institutions through the Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Board, which is a tripartite institution responsible for ensuring that during a strike the indispensable number of banks remain open, in accordance with section 145 of the Credit Institutions Act.

The Committee recalls that for many years it has been requesting the Government to take the necessary measures to amend various aspects of the legislation on the right to strike of public employees, particularly:

• (i) section 99(II) of the Federal Act on State Employees (LFTSE), which lays down the requirement of two-thirds of the workers in the public body concerned to call a strike;
• (ii) the legislation that restricts the right to strike of certain state employees (including workers in the banking sector and those in many decentralized public bodies, such as the National Lottery or the Housing Institute) only to situations involving a general and systematic violation of their rights (section 94, Title 4, of the LFTSE, and section 5 of the Act issuing regulations under article 123(B)(XIIIbis) of the Constitution); and
• (iii) several laws and regulations related to public services (the Railway Regulatory Act, the National Vehicle Registration Act, the General Channels of Communication Act and the internal regulations of the Secretariat of Communications and Transport) which envisage the possibility of requisitioning staff in the event that the national economy is affected.

The Committee notes that, in relation to these three outstanding issues, the Government indicates that, as discussions and deliberations are under way to determine whether the right to strike is covered by the Convention, it will refrain from providing comments until this issue has been resolved.

The Committee requests the Government to consult with the social partners regarding revisions of the above legislative provisions and to indicate any developments in this regard. The Committee also requests the Government to provide its comments on the additional observations of the ITUC and IndustriALL relating to the exercise of the right to strike.