Postal address Postbus 9208, 3506 GE Utrecht
Embassy of Mexico in the Netherlands The Honourable Jorge Lomonaco Tonda, Ambassador Nassauplein 28 2585 EC THE HAGUE
Date
Ext ension number
February 4, 2011
030-2738276
Our reference
102/HvdK/AN/ah Subject
Global action trade union actions
Dear Mr. Ambassador, In the early hours of February 19, 2006 a fireball exploded in the bow els of Grupo México’ s Past a de Conchos coal mine in the northern state of Coahuila, t riggering cave-ins all along the 2.8 km number eight shaft and trapping 65 miners hundreds of met ers below the earth. When 33 miners w ere trapped underground at t he San José mine in August 2010, the Chilean government sw ung into action and 69 days lat er all 33 w orkers w ere rescued. In stark contrast, rescue ef forts w ere stopped aft er only five days in Mexico, w hen f amilies w ere only a f ew metres aw ay from t heir trapped loved ones. As Grupo México and the Mexican government halted rescue eff orts, disconnecting the electricity making any continuation of the search impossible, they also made it impossible to carry out a proper investigation into t he cause of t he mine collapse, believed by many t o be illegal saf ety conditions in t he mine. Almost five years later, t he bodies of 63 of t he 65 miners t hat died at Past a de Conchos remain buried and the Mexican government has failed t o investigat e or prosecute those responsible. Their w idow s and f amilies have never been properly compensated. Since February 2006, t he Mexican government has systematically and repeat edly violat ed Mexican law and international standards in an attempt to crush the Mexican Miners’ Union. The union’ s democratically elected General Secret ary has been f orced t o lead Los Mineros from exile in Canada as t he Mexican Government and Grupo México continue a sham legal process against him.
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The Mexican Miners’ Union is not alone. The few ot her genuinely independent trade unions seeking to improve the lives of Mexican w orkers have also found themselves increasingly under fire. In addition, w orkers’ freedom of association is syst ematically violat ed by undemocratic practises such as employer-dominated “ protection contracts” and interference in union elections. Global action trade union actions This February, the Global Union Federations IMF, ICEM, ITF and UNI and affiliated trade unions w orldw ide to take action from February 14 until and as close as possible to the fift h anniversary of t he Past a de Conchos tragedy on February 19. In light of this w eek of action, w e, FNV Bondgenoten and FNV, w ith this let ter call on the Mexican Government to: 1. Hold employer and government of ficials accountable f or the Past a de Conchos mine explosion that killed 65 miners on February 19, 2006.There must be an independent, professional investigation of the causes of the explosion. The persons responsible should be criminally prosecuted. The government must pay f air compensation to the f amilies of the victims and recover the 63 bodies that remain in the mine f or proper f unerals. Mexico must take action t o improve mine healt h and saf ety in compliance w it h ILO Conventions. 2. Abolish syst emic violations of w orkers’ freedom of association, including employer-dominated “ protection contract s” and interf erence in union elections. The government must eliminat e t he “ toma de nota,” w hich requires that the labour aut horities approve the result s of union elections bef ore they are given effect. The elected leadership of Mineros and SME must be immediately recognized. The practice of employer-dominat ed “ prot ection contract s” must be ended so t hat w orkers can freely choose to be represent ed by a union of t heir choice w it hout fear of intimidation or reprisal. Workers must have the right to receive copies of their collective bargaining agreements. 3. End the use of force—by t he state or privat e parties—t o repress w orkers’ legitimate demands for democratic unions, better w ages and w orking conditions, and good health and safety conditions. The government must immediately w ithdraw f ederal police f orces from Cananea and from all w orkplaces. The persons responsible f or the assassinat ion of Los Mineros members Héct or Álvarez Gómez,, Mario Albert o Castillo Rodríguez, Reynaldo Hernández González,, Juvent ino Flores Salas and FLOC organizer Santiago Raf ael Cruz must be brought t o justice.
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4. End the campaign of political persecution against the Mexican Miner’ s Union and the Mexican Electrical Workers’ Union. The government must release unjustly imprisoned trade union leaders Juan Linares Mont uf ar and Miguel Márquez, drop criminal charges against General Secret ary Napoleón Gómez Urrutia and other Mineros leaders, ret urn t he funds in t he unions’ frozen bank account s, and cease the political persecution of SNTMMSRM and SME. The government must create a new public company to provide electrical pow er to the Mexico City region, re-hire the fired w orkers w ho are demanding reinst at ement, and recognize the SME as their bargaining representative.
We look f orw ard to receiving your reply.
Yours sincerely,
Agnes Jongerius, President FNV
Henk van der Kolk, President FNV Bondgenot en