By David Shepardson and David Lawder
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Trade Representative’s Office said on Tuesday it had reached a deal with Mexican auto parts firm Tridonex to address allegations that workers at its Matamoros facility were being denied the rights of free association and collective bargaining.
Cardone Industries Inc, the Philadelphia-based parent company of Tridonex, said it backed the voluntary action plan in response to the petition filed by USTR in June under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which replaced NAFTA.
“The agreement reached with Tridonex to provide severance, back pay and a commitment to neutrality in future union elections shows our determination to leverage the USMCA’s innovative enforcement tools to address long-standing labor issues and support Mexico’s implementation of its recent labor reforms,” said U.S. Trade Ambassador Katherine Tai.
Tridonex has agreed to provide severance and six months of back pay, totaling a minimum of nine months of pay per worker and in many cases much more, to at least 154 workers who were dismissed from the plant. The back pay totals more than $600,000.
Previously, Mexican officials said they accepted the U.S. request for a review of Tridonex in Matamoros to determine if workers had the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining.
Cardone said it “commits to implement additional measures to further support workers’ rights, as enshrined in the important labor law reforms enacted by the Mexican government and in the labor provisions of the USMCA.”
Carone added it will work with Mexican authorities “to ensure a personal, free, and secret vote by employees” and provide all “union-eligible workers” with a printed copy of the collective bargaining agreement.”
General Motors Co has also come under scrutiny in Mexico after the USTR in May filed a USMCA complaint against the company’s pickup truck plant in Guanajuato state over possible rights abuses during a union contract vote. The re-do of a disputed contract vote at the GM plant in Silao will take place Aug. 17-18.
(Reporting by David Shepardson and David Lawder; additional reporting by Daina Beth Solomon in Mexico City; Editing by David Gregorio and Chris Reese)
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