Mexico

By Dan La Botz More than a quarter of a million miners and steelworkers walked off the job between 1-3 March in wildcat strikes at 70 companies in Mexico, virtually paralyzing the mining industry. While the strike has ended, there are reasons to believe that this could be the first act that could challenge Mexican employers, the corrupt “official” unions, and the conservative Mexican government. The strike resulted from an attempt by the government to remove the Mexican Miners’ Union’s top officer, general secretary Napleón Gómez Urrutia, and replace him with Elías Morales Hernández, a union...

Venezuela The Venezuelan revolutionary socialist party, the Partido Revolución y Socialismo (PRS) has debated standing a candidate against Chávez in the presidential elections in Venezuela in December. The majority of the PRS, including well-known trade union leaders such as Orlando Chirino, decided last month to back Chávez and his campaign for 10 million votes. However a significant minority within the party, the Juventud de Izquierda Revolucionaria (JIR) has argued for standing a candidate, as part of the fight for working class political independence. The JIR, which is part of the...

Indonesia A wave of protests — including on May Day — by Indonesian workers has forced the government to put off its draft labour law. According to union leader Dita Sari, the stakes are high because the labour law “will become a normative regulation that will be binding on workers for years and years into the future”. However the overall situation for workers is not great. One danger is the government’s emphasis on copying China and Vietnam, which have lower wages than Indonesia and no independent trade unions. Sari said: “The president’s reference to Chinese and Vietnamese models of labour...

After the Mexican revolution (1910-1920) ended with the exhaustion of the major combatants, a Bonapartist regime was established. It took the form of a ruling party (called the PRI for most of its history), which integrated trade unions, peasant organisations and business groups within its structures. Leaders of these organisations delivered votes and suppressed struggles. President Lazaro Cárdenas (1934-40) was instrumental in perfecting this form of political rule. His government also redistributed millions of acres of land to peasants while industrial workers gained higher wages and wider...

Oaxaca As we went to press, teachers in Oaxaca city were planning to take strike action in a further sign of the revival of the movement which rose to prominence last year. The action was backed by the APPO popular committee, which led the mobilisations last year. Students pledged to join the action, holding conferences and discussions in schools. Section 22 of the SNTE teachers’ union planned to march to the zócalo (central square) as part of national action called for by the rank and file CNTE movement. A teacher work stoppage will take place in Huatulco on the Oaxaca southern coast. The two...

At least 530 maquiladoras (sweatshops that produce for export) left Mexico between 2000 and 2003 according to a recent report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The maquiladora sector lost 280,000 jobs, a 21% decrease in three years, and foreign direct investment decreased by a third during the same period. Most of the factories left for China, Central America or the Caribbean in search of lower wages than the 45 cents per hour paid in Mexico. The Mexican government is to phase out payroll taxes at the end of the year and virtually end income taxes for...

In December LG Electronics, an $18 billion Korean company, transferred 350 components workers at their Reynosa TV plant to an abandoned warehouse. The workers first had to suffer rats and snakes while production was set up. They are exposed to the fumes from soldering and numerous chemicals with little or no protective equipment. They earn $43-$58 US per week. The workers went to their company-dominated CTM union and were told there was nothing to be done. On Saturday, February 21st they met and decided to file charges at the labour board. They found the State Governor touring nearby and asked...

By Joan Trevor On Saturday 14 February - Valentine's Day - a march was held in the Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez to remember more than 300 young women murdered there since 1993. The women were often raped before being killed and their mutilated bodies dumped in public places. The murderers - believed to be a gang - have evaded justice, and the authorities shown themselves at first dismissive of the crimes, then incompetent - and perhaps even reluctant - to solve them. There is speculation that many of the murders have been done by rich gangsters with links to the law enforcement agencies...

By Mark Osborn CAFOD (Catholic campaigning organisation) have produced a a useful, detailed, expose of the terrible working conditions, harassment and poverty pay faced by electronics workers, making computer parts, in Mexico, Thailand and China. Thailand is the world's second largest producer of hard disc drives. A Thai worker making these drives, that end up in computers sold by companies like Dell earns around £2.50 per day. They do not receive sick pay or holiday pay (in contravention of Thai law). Sub-contracted workers were reported as looking tired and ill, and if workers become...