INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY WITH MEXICO'S NATIONAL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MEXICO 002195

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR DRL/AWH AND ILCSR, WHA/MEX, USDOL FOR ILAB

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB ECON PGOV ENGR PINR PHUM MX
SUBJECT: INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY WITH MEXICO'S NATIONAL
MINERS UNION

REF: (A) MEXICO 1191 (B) 07 MEXICO 1925


1. SUMMARY: On July 8, an international delegation of
legislators and union officials arrived in Mexico for a
five-day visit to review the circumstances surrounding the
long running dispute between Mexico's National Miners Union
(SNTMMSRM),the Mexican mining industry and the GOM. The
delegation consisted of legislators from Canada, Australia
and Peru as well as union officials from 13 countries;
among them members of the United Steelworkers Union (USW)
and the AFL-CIO. The delegation met with the GOM's Labor
Secretary, Mexico City's Mayor, various Mexican Congressmen
and local labor activists. They also all called on their
respective embassies. The US union officials met with
post's A/DCM on July 9. The main points raised by the US
union officials during this meeting were: a request that
the embassy keep Washington informed of the SNTMMSRM
situation, an expression of concern that there is no rule
of law in Mexico, especially with respect to labor rights;
a lament that the SNTMMSRM's leader was being persecuted
because he pushed for better wages for the workers; an
assertion that the miners' union situation is proof that
the NAALC (NAFTA side agreement) does not work; a complaint
that the promise made that NAFTA would raise wages and
living standards in Mexico was false and that this was
having a negative impact on US wages; and a charge that
mining conditions in Mexico are not safe. Finally the US
union officials asked if the rule of law in Mexico was not
being respected on something as basic as labor rights how
could the USG expect anyone to take seriously the rule of
law components of the Merida Initiative. A/DCM stressed
how importantly the USG views safety issue and promised to
relay the union officials concerns to Washington. He
underscored the importance of institution building
under the Merida Initiative and other programs. END SUMMARY.


PROBLEMS WITH THE MINERS



2. An international delegation of legislators and union
officials arrived in Mexico on July 8, to review the long
running dispute between Mexico's National Miners Union
(SNTMMSRM),the GOM and the Mexican mining industry. Some
of the issues of concern to the delegation included
settling a two-year old strike at one of Mexico's largest
copper mines, guaranteeing the recovery of the remains of
miners killed in the February 2006 Pasta de Conchas coal
mine disaster in the northern border state of Coahuila,
freeing imprisoned labor leaders, and allowing Mexican mine
workers' union leader Napoleon Gomez Urrutia to return
unmolested from self-imposed Canadian exile. Gomez fled to
Canada following a
struggle that originally began in 2002 between him and
another union official, Elias Morales Hernandez, to become
SNTMMSRM Secretary General. Although Gomez was ultimately
declared the winner, in 2006 the then administration of
President Vicente Fox used an allegation that he embezzled
USD 55 million in union trust funds to oust him from his
union leadership position. Initially Gomez provided very
little information to account for the alleged missing funds
which were last seen in the local branch of a Canadian
bank. His supporters now claim a Gomez has since provided a
complete accounting for the missing funds by offering to make
public various banking and financial documents which fully
address the allegations made against him.


INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT FOR THE SNTMMSRM



3. Gomez' removal as union leader generated considerable
controversy in labor circles both within Mexico and abroad.
Most, although certainly not all, of the union's rank and
file continued to support Gomez. International, the United
Steelworkers Union (USW) in the US and Canada strongly
supported Gomez. The USW even filed a submission
(complaint) on the SNTMMSRM's behalf under the terms of the
North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC),a
side agreement to NAFTA. Unfortunately for the SNTMMSRM,
the submission was declined. This, however, did not stop

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international support for Gomez from growing.


4. Much of Gomez' and the SNTMMSRM's initial support came
from unions in the US and Canada but a number of
international unions and labor organizations have now taken
up his cause. The International Metalworkers Federation
(IMF) has been very active on behalf of Gomez and the
SNTMMSRM's as have the ILO's Committee of Freedom of
Association and the International Federation Chemical,
Energy and General Workers' Union (ICEM). After several
years of advocating on behalf of the SNTMMSRM from abroad,
the National Miners Union's international supporters sent a
delegation to Mexico to examine the situation first-hand and
to express their solidarity with the embattled organization.


5. The delegation included legislators from Canada (Jack
Layton - New Democratic Party),Australia (Graham Perrett
Australian Labor Party) and Peru (Maria Sumire de Conde -
Union for Peru). It also included union officials from
Canada, the US, Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Italy,
Norway, Peru, Poland, South Africa, Switzerland and Sweden.
During the five-day visit Canadian Jack Layton met with GOM
Labor Secretary Javier Lozano. The entire delegation met
with Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Erbrard as well as with
various members of the Mexican Congress. They all also
arranged to call on their respective embassies to voice
their concerns. The US officials from the USW and the
AFL-CIO met with Mission Mexico's A/DCM on July 9.


US LABOR UNION OFFICIALS EXPRESS SOLIDARITY WITH SNTMMSRM


6. During the July 9 meeting between the US members of the
delegation and post's A/DCM the main points raised were as
follows. First and foremost the US members asked the
Embassy to keep Washington informed of the SNTMMSRM
situation. They worried that the issue might be ignored
without regular updates from Mission Mexico. Next was the
oft repeated complaint that USG claims that NAFTA
would raise wages and living standards in Mexico were
false. In fact, they averred that NAFTA was lowering wages
and living standards in Mexico and that this was putting
pressure on US workers who are being pushed to compete with
Mexican workers based on lowered wages. The US delegation
members then pointed to the miners' union situation as
proof that the NAALC does not work and that the failure of
these types of side accords, in combination with the global
economic crisis, would turn people worldwide against all
free trade agreements.


7. The US members asserted that the miner's
union situation showed clearly that there is no rule of law
in Mexico, especially with respect to labor rights. For
example the rights to bargain collectively and freedom of
association are not respected. They lamented that the
SNTMMSRM's leader was being persecuted by the GOM, repeatedly
having
to defend himself in court form bogus charges based on
forged documents, simply because he pushed for better wages
for the workers. The US delegation members spoke at length
about the lack of safe working conditions in he Mexican
mining industry and attributed that to indifference by the
GOM and the mine owners. Finally the US delegation members
asked if the rule of law in Mexico was not respected on
something as basic as labor rights how could the USG expect
anyone to take seriously the rule of law components of the
Merida Initiative. In response the A/DCM stressed how
importantly the USG views safety issues and promised to
convey the union officials concerns to Washington. He
affirmed that institution building is a key element of
the Merida initiative and conveyed how seriously the USG
administration regards labor and environmental issues.


COMMENT


8. The situation involving the National Miners Union (
SNTMMSRM) and its leader Napoleon Gomez Urrutia is
extremely complicated. There is good reason to believe that
all the parties involved in this situation have behaved in
ways that are less than honest. In post's view many of the

MEXICO 00002195 003 OF 003


criticism made by the international delegation have merit.
On the other hand, there is substantial circumstantial
evidence to indicate that Gomez is not the completely
guiltless and unfairly persecuted individual that the
international delegation made him out to be. That said, it
will take considerable hard evidence to shake the faith
that the SNTMMSRM's and Gomez' international supporters
have in him. This will undoubtedly mean that the USW and
the AFL-CIO will continue to press the USG to help resolve
the Miners' Union situation in the SNTMMSRN's favor.
Visit Mexico City's Classified Web Site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/mexicocity and the North American
Partnership Blog at http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/nap /

FEELEY