WASHINGTON – The United States today announced the successful resolution of the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM) matter at the Servicios Industriales González, S.A. de C.V. (SIG) facility, which specializes in fabricating steel components and is located in the state of Nuevo Leon. This matter was brought to the attention of the U.S. government through a petition. After the United States requested the Government of Mexico’s review of the matter, Mexico and the company undertook several remedial actions to ensure workers’ rights are protected at the facility.
“The resolution of this matter demonstrates the RRM’s continued success as a tool for achieving tangible benefits for workers and safeguarding the rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining,” said Ambassador Katherine Tai. “We commend the Government of Mexico and Servicios Industriales González for their work to swiftly address this matter and their continued efforts to ensure workers’ rights are upheld.”
“Workers have the right to organize and advocate for the labor union of their choice without facing retaliation,” said Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs Thea Lee. “We acknowledge the actions the government of Mexico took with the employer to address the issues raised by the petitioners. These actions promote employer neutrality at the plant consistent with Mexican law and the USMCA. We will continue to monitor the situation to ensure that all workers’ rights are respected.”
Actions taken by the facility and the Government of Mexico to address the matter include:
- SIG paying nearly $20,000 USD in settlement to six dismissed workers;
- SIG providing equivalent facility access to two unions seeking to represent workers at the facility;
- SIG posting and disseminating a neutrality statement and related guidelines at the facility, affirming its commitment to safeguarding the rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining;
- SIG representatives delivering trainings to all facility personnel on its neutrality statement and guidelines; and
- The Government of Mexico delivering trainings on freedom of association and collective bargaining rights to workers and company representatives at all SIG facilities in the state of Nuevo Leon.
Background
The United States Trade Representative and the U.S. Secretary of Labor co-chair the Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement (ILC). On February 29, 2024, the ILC received an RRM petition from the Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores del Ramo de Transporte en General, La Construcción y sus Servicios (SNTTYC), a independent union. The petition alleged that SIG dismissed workers in retaliation for undertaking union organizing activity, interfered in union affairs, and provided its preferred union with preferential access to its facility to the detriment of other labor unions. The ILC reviews RRM petitions that it receives, and the accompanying information, within 30 days.
The ILC determined, in response to the petition, that there was sufficient credible evidence of a denial of rights enabling the good faith invocation of enforcement mechanisms. As a result, the U.S. Trade Representative submitted a request to Mexico to review the matter. The Government of Mexico accepted the request, conducted an investigation, and worked with SIG to provide remediation to dismissed workers and implement facility-wide measures aimed at safeguarding freedom of association and collective bargaining rights.
As a result of the above actions taken by the facility and the Government of Mexico to resolve the issue, the United States agrees that there is no ongoing denial of rights. Ambassador Tai’s letter directing the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury to resume liquidation of entries of goods from the SIG facility is available here.
A copy of the request for review can be found here.
Information about previous requests can be found here.
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