carta a la embajada de méxico en holanda por fnv 2011-02-04
DESCRIPTION
When 33 miners were trapped underground at the San José mine in August 2010, the Chilean government swung into action and 69 days later all 33 workers were rescued. 102/HvdK/AN/ah Dear Mr. Ambassador, Global action trade union actions Postal address Postbus 9208, 3506 GE Utrecht Extension number Our reference Date SubjectTRANSCRIPT
Date Extension number
February 4, 2011 030-2738276
Our reference
102/HvdK/AN/ah
Subject
Global action trade union actions
Dear Mr. Ambassador,
In the early hours of February 19, 2006 a f ireball exploded in the bow els of Grupo México’s Pasta de
Conchos coal mine in the northern state of Coahuila, t riggering cave-ins all along the 2.8 km number eight
shaft and trapping 65 miners hundreds of meters below the earth.
When 33 miners w ere trapped underground at the San José mine in August 2010, the Chilean government
sw ung into action and 69 days later all 33 w orkers w ere rescued.
In stark contrast, rescue ef forts w ere stopped after only f ive days in Mexico, w hen families w ere only a few
metres aw ay from their trapped loved ones. As Grupo México and the Mexican government halted rescue
efforts, disconnecting the electricity making any continuation of the search impossible, they also made it
impossible to carry out a proper investigation into the cause of the mine collapse, believed by many to be
illegal safety condit ions in the mine. Almost f ive years later, the bodies of 63 of the 65 miners that died at
Pasta de Conchos remain buried and the Mexican government has failed to investigate or prosecute those
responsible. Their w idow s and families have never been properly compensated.
Since February 2006, the Mexican government has systematically and repeatedly violated Mexican law and
international standards in an attempt to crush the Mexican
Miners’ Union. The union’s democratically elected General Secretary has been forced to lead Los Mineros
from exile in Canada as the Mexican Government and Grupo México continue a sham legal process against
him.
Postal address Postbus 9208, 3506 GE Utrecht
Embassy of Mexico in the Netherlands
The Honourable Jorge Lomonaco Tonda, Ambassador
Nassauplein 28
2585 EC THE HAGUE
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Our reference 102/HvdK/AN/ah
The Mexican Miners’ Union is not alone. The few other genuinely independent trade unions seeking to
improve the lives of Mexican w orkers have also found themselves increasingly under f ire.
In addit ion, w orkers’ freedom of association is systematically violated by undemocratic practises such as
employer-dominated “ protection contracts” and interference in union elections.
Global action trade union actions
This February, the Global Union Federations IMF, ICEM, ITF and UNI and aff iliated trade unions w orldw ide to
take action from February 14 until and as close as possible to the f if th anniversary of the Pasta de Conchos
tragedy on February 19.
In light of this w eek of action, w e, FNV Bondgenoten and FNV, w ith this let ter call on the Mexican
Government to:
1. Hold employer and government of f icials accountable for the Pasta de Conchos mine explosion that
killed 65 miners on February 19, 2006.There must be an independent, professional investigation of
the causes of the explosion. The persons responsible should be criminally prosecuted. The
government must pay fair compensation to the families of the vict ims and recover the 63 bodies
that remain in the mine for proper funerals. Mexico must take action to improve mine health and
safety in compliance w ith ILO Conventions.
2. Abolish systemic violat ions of w orkers’ freedom of association, including employer-dominated
“ protection contracts” and interference in union elections. The government must eliminate the
“ toma de nota,” w hich requires that the labour authorit ies approve the results of union elections
before they are given effect. The elected leadership of Mineros and SME must be immediately
recognized. The practice of employer-dominated “ protection contracts” must be ended so that
w orkers can freely choose to be represented by a union of their choice w ithout fear of int imidation
or reprisal. Workers must have the right to receive copies of their collective bargaining agreements.
3. End the use of force—by the state or private part ies—to repress w orkers’ legit imate demands for
democratic unions, better w ages and w orking condit ions, and good health and safety condit ions.
The government must immediately w ithdraw federal police forces from Cananea and from all
w orkplaces. The persons responsible for the assassinat ion of Los Mineros members Héctor Álvarez
Gómez,, Mario Alberto Castillo Rodríguez, Reynaldo Hernández González,, Juvent ino Flores Salas
and FLOC organizer Santiago Rafael Cruz must be brought to justice.
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Our reference 102/HvdK/AN/ah
4. End the campaign of polit ical persecution against the Mexican Miner’s Union and the Mexican
Electrical Workers’ Union. The government must release unjustly imprisoned trade union leaders
Juan Linares Montufar and Miguel Márquez, drop criminal charges against General Secretary
Napoleón Gómez Urrutia and other Mineros leaders, return the funds in the unions’ frozen bank
accounts, and cease the polit ical persecution of SNTMMSRM and SME. The government must
create a new public company to provide electrical pow er to the Mexico City region, re-hire the f ired
w orkers w ho are demanding reinstatement, and recognize the SME as their bargaining
representative.
We look forw ard to receiving your reply.
Yours sincerely,
Agnes Jongerius, Henk van der Kolk,
President FNV President FNV Bondgenoten