News

On November 21, a union election took place at the Atento contact centres of Mexico City. It was attended by international observers from UNI, AFL-CIO, US Solidarity Centre, Fenattel (Brazil) as well as a representative from the ILO, together with national labour inspectors and human rights commissioners.

After 5 years of campaigning inside and outside Mexico, STRM and the international trade union movement succeeded in winning a fair election without violence and threats from protection union thugs. We congratulate the current members of the Federal District Conciliation and Arbitration Local Board (JLCA) for the preparation and execution of this election. This process will be a reference for future union elections in Mexico, if their lessons are taken into account by government and trade unions.

Alan Tate, Head of UNI ICTS, who was one of the international observers, said, “the role of the international observers and particularly the ILO was important in making sure the election was legitimate. We urge the JLCA and other labour authorities in Mexico to continue to request national, international and ILO observers for future union elections”

Although the election was fair, the results have determined that Atento workers will continue without representation by an independent and democratic union and they will not able to participate in a genuine collective bargaining. This forces us to raise our voice even more strongly to demand the end of the protection contracts and protection unions in Mexico. They are part of a machinery created to prevent the effective exercise of freedom of association and collective bargaining. Even in a context of a fair election, companies and fake unions can impose their interests. The Mexican government has to take note of this if it wants the world to believe that true labour and union rights are in force in the country.

“While we are pleased that the election was peaceful we know that workers are subject to intimidation and threats on a daily basis, particularly where a protection unions exist”, said Tate

It is the company that is primarily responsible for continuing the protection union system. Atento must understand that human, labour and union rights cannot only apply in some countries but must be observed in all countries.

We call on Atento to open up a dialogue with UNI and its affiliates in order to discuss these important issues and the relationship between the company and unions globally.

UNI will continues to support the STRM struggle for an independent and democratic union for the Atento workers. We will continue to fight against the system of phony, protection unions in Mexico and their support by companies. We will continue our work to organize contact centre workers globally.