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Mexico: unions in Finland reject PKC's protection contract

11 April, 2012In Finland, the media, the company's biggest shareholder and trade unions organising PKC workers have spoken out against the company's protection contract with the CTM. Mexican workers had chosen the SNTMMSRM to represent them.

MEXICO:  Arneses y Accesorios de Mexico, Mexican subsidiary of the Finnish auto parts wiring systems and accessories group PKC, told workers it had signed a collective agreement with the Mexican Confederation of Workers (Confederación de Trabajadores de México, CTM). In response, the National Miners' and Metalworkers Union (SNTMMSRM),the union the workers had chosen to represent them, made a formal bargaining demand to the Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Board. The protection contract officially prevents workers joining the SNTMMSRM, led by Napoleón Gómez Urrutia.

Trade unions in Finland have put pressure on the company to respect the workers' choice of union representation and their rejection of the protection contract. In addition, the Finnish television channel MTV3 reported on the Mexican workers' problems at the PKC subsidiary. The report included interviews with workers, including several members of Section 307 and with the PKC's then President and Chief Executive Officer, Harri Suutari. Meanwhile, Finnish trade unions issued a statement condemning the company's actions and calling on shareholders to raise the question of protection contracts at the shareholders' annual general meeting, held today.

The most recent development is that the company's biggest shareholder, IImarinen, an insurance company, has threatened to withdraw its investment in PKC because of the company's refusal to respect the Mexican workers' choice of union.

The IMF and other international federations and trade unions, as well as non-government organisations across the world, have declared their support for the miners' union and condemned the company's actions.