jared laurels
Newspaper La Jornada
Saturday, August 27, 2022, p. fifteen
Workers of sections 273 and 274 of the National Union of Mining, Metallurgical, Steel and Similar Workers of the Mexican Republic broke out, at 12 noon yesterday, a strike due to lack of agreements on the distribution of profits and violations of the collective bargaining agreement (CCT).
The red and black flags were placed at the TMS Internacional company, corresponding to section 273, and the Fertinal plant, owned by Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), which belongs to 274, both located in Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán.
On July 15, Fertinal workers had approached President López Obrador during his visit to the plant, in which he announced the investment of 218 million dollars to double its production; the workers gave him documentation with his demands.
Ramón Monsiváis Ortega, Secretary of Labor of the Mining Union, headed by Senator Napoleón Gómez Urrutia, emphasized that the call to strike at Fertinal is for violations of the CCT, as exposed by his colleagues to the head of the federal Executive, as well as in demand for conditions plant security.
The plant is practically obsolete to work, there are unsafe conditions and the integrity of colleagues is at risk
he underlined.
In a brief statement, the Ministry of Labor indicated that the conflict derives from the 2021 profit sharing demand, situation that the company has indicated as inadmissible for not having reported profits
.
The nearly 1,200 workers unanimously approved the stoppage of activities in an extraordinary assembly. Monsiváis Ortega pointed out that the company did not guarantee the distribution of profits and – he specified – the supposed offer of 25 thousand pesos corresponds to a production bonus already established in the CCT.
The union leader said that after the Fertinal workers delivered their petition to the President, there was an approach by Pemex personnel to verify the conditions of the plant and they recognized that it is damaged
. However, he later stated they sent other people and there was no favorable response
.
Regarding section 273, he pointed out that a hundred workers from TMS Internacional, at the service of the Arcelor Mittal steel company, decided to stop activities. In this case, he stressed, the summons was for non-compliance with the 2021 profit sharing payment.
He noted that the company reported profits of more than 22 million pesos the previous year, but failed to pay the corresponding 10 percent payment.
