CNM Internacional
Confederação Nacional dos Metalúrgicos da CUT August, 23 2001

News from VW Mexico

MEXICO
Srong IMF statement on VW Mexico

The IMF expresses extreme concern at developments and in particular that VW is requesting to nullify the strike.
MEXICO: The IMF general secretary, Marcello Malentacchi, has written to Francisco Bada, vice-president of Volkswagen, Mexico, to express the IMF's extreme concern at developments at VW Mexico in Puebla, and in particular at comments made by the VW vice-president in the Mexican press that Volkswagen "had requested the federal government to nullify the strike [at the Puebla plant]" (TheNewsMexico.com - 8/20/2001).
"Almost exactly one year ago," writes Malentacchi, "I unfortunately had cause to write to Mr. B. Leissner after a ruling by the Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Board (CAB) that resulted from a similar request by VW. Under the present circumstances, I can do no better than to quote our earlier letter:
["In our view, the CAB decision is blatant government interference in the collective bargaining process. Moreover, we believe that declaring a strike "inexistent" and ordering the workers to end it within 24 hours on pain of dismissal is, in effect, a violation of the conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO).
We are especially disappointed to learn that it was VW management, which sought this decision from the CAB. Frankly, we do not understand how this can be reconciled with what we thought was the VW policy of resolving collective bargaining issues through dialogue.
Instead of negotiating in good faith, you called on an outside agency, which has long been used to stifle legitimate worker and union demands, to declare the strike illegal…
Volkswagen's participation in such legal manipulations is a great disappointment to us. Moreover, it is unlikely to lead to the results we all desire  a resolution of conflicts, a productive workplace and decent incomes for workers.
Consequently, I urge you to desist from this ill-considered move to undermine the VW union and to return to good faith negotiations to settle the outstanding issues."]
In his letter to Bada, Malentacchi states that the IMF will not content itself with addressing annual protest letters to Volkswagen management concerning its attempts to declare strikes unlawful. "The ILO as well as the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Corporations offer the possibility of redress in such situations. The latter are of particular interest because they allow us to submit complaints to national government contact points in Germany as well as Mexico. Knowing of the generally positive industrial relations at Volkswagen and its good public image, we would take such a step regretfully. Consequently, let me urge you to immediately withdraw the request for 'nullification' of the Puebla strike and negotiate all outstanding issues in good faith with the union." (IMF site)

Strikers nix Volkswagen's 7 percent pay offer

Michael O'Boyle, The News Staff

PUEBLA - Thousands of Volkswagen workers on Wednesday gathered in Puebla to reject a pay rise offered by company executives, pushing their strike into the fifth day, before marching on the city center to raise their cries before the state government building.
In the morning, the leader of the 12,500 member-strong Independent Union of Volkswagen Auto Workers (SITIAVW), Jose Luis Rodriguez, formally presented the company's offer of a 7 percent raise to union members, who voted to hold out for a 19 percent pay hike.
The union had at first asked for a 30 percent raise, and then lowered the figure to 21 percent. Rodriguez said the figure was negotiable, but that the union was looking for a salary increase of between 12 and 16 percent -- on a par with raises granted to Nissan and Ford employees in Mexico.
After the meeting, the workers marched 15 kilometers under the hot noon sun from a soccer field near the German carmaker's plant outside of Puebla to the colonial city center.
"It is unjust that they can pay us so little compared to workers in the United States or Germany when we produce so much," said Roberto Perez, a metal foundry worker with 20 years at the factory. "In Germany they get a 15-minute break every two hours. Here we get a half hour for lunch every day."
Volkswagen says its workers are among the best paid in the nation with average salaries of 226 pesos per day, compared to between 150 and 200 pesos per day in other car factories.
"In Volkswagen's consortium, we are one of the most productive plants worldwide -- we were No. 1 last year -- but we are also among the lowest paid," said Jose Luis Morales, an assembly line worker. "Volkswagen is taking advantage of Mexico's cheap labor and its free-trade agreement with the United States and Canada."
Last year, the Puebla plant produced over 425,000 cars, or between 1,300 and 1,500 a day. It serves as the production center for all of North America, exporting around 80 percent of its output.
The VW workers were joined by representatives of the National Union of Workers (UNT), the Independent Telephone Workers Union and member unions of the Permanent Agrarian Council (CAP), among others.
According to union leaders, they are working together to gain a stronger political base, and to increase the power of independent unions outside of traditional Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)-backed labor unions.
"This strike is a symbol of the solidarity between independent unions and can prove that we can mobilize at a national level and that workers are not alone," said Rodriguez, SITIAVW leader.
Rodriguez and UNT Secretary-General Francisco Hernandez announced that if talks on Wednesday night with company representatives at the Labor Ministry in Mexico City were unsuccessful they would mobilize protests in Puebla and Mexico City for Saturday, and that if the strike is still not resolved, they would occupy Labor Secretariat offices throughout the country.
"This strike is very important for the future of workers in Mexico," said Max Correa, leader of a CAP member union. "If the VW negotiations go well, it will become the model for all other salary talks under the new government."

(The News.com, august 23, 2001)

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