An incumbent union and its collective bargaining agreement (CBA) were ousted in a historical vote at an automaker’s facility in Mexico last month. Subsequently, an independent union announced they will seek to represent the workers and negotiate a new CBA. Global employers operating in Mexico should understand the process a new union needs to go through to sit at the negotiating table with the company. Additionally, companies should expect stricter enforcement of the new labor reforms due to influence of the USMCA.
- New unions must register with the recently-established Federal Conciliation and Labor Registry Center. The Center will also regulate CBAs and voting processes.
- New unions must gain at least 30 percent of the workers' support in a unit to obtain a certificate of representation issued by the Federal Conciliation and Labor Registration Center. If more than one union argues that they represent the employees, then the employees shall be required to vote, and the union appointed by the majority vote will obtain the certificate of representation.
- The content of a proposed collective bargaining agreement will be subject to review and approval by the majority of employees. Collective bargaining agreements in force must be reviewed at least once during the four-year period.
- The labor reforms and the implementation of Conciliation Centers and labor courts come into force in stages. The third stage, which will impact the most manufacturing workers and global companies, will not be effective until May 2022.
Notably for global employers, international union IndustriAll has shown its support for the new union in this case. Global unions like IndustriAll and Uni Global will likely use these labor reforms as an opportunity to expand their influence in Mexico.
HR Global’s Take: Mexico has made significant progress on their labor law reforms since 2019, but many of the promised changes await to be implemented. Meanwhile, new independent unions backed by international unions are eager to represent workers in Mexico. HR Policy Global will work with our partners in Mexico to help our members navigate through the complexities.
