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some workers of the fertilizer producer Fertinal is called the devil’s company
, due to the poor maintenance conditions in which the facilities are found. Currently there is a legitimate strike to enforce their rights, as the firm has ignored its responsibilities for too long, compromising the safety and integrity of the workers.
Grupo Fertinal was born as a result of the privatization of the national fertilizer company Fertimex. In the government of Enrique Peña Nieto it was acquired by Petróleos Mexicanos, as part of a strategy to reactivate the production of this article in Mexico. In addition to the production for our country, it exports to other places, such as the United States, Spain, Australia, Romania, Brazil, Chile and Ecuador, among others. Thanks to this activity, last year it obtained significant profits with the sale of more than 647 thousand tons of monoammonium phosphate and granulated fertilizer, as well as the production of 600 thousand 693 tons of explosives for the country’s mining companies, 149 thousand 619 metric tons of nitric acid and 39 thousand 516 phosphoric acid.
With the government of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, one of the tasks of this company is to strengthen the country’s agriculture through the free delivery of fertilizers to peasants. This work has undoubtedly represented benefits for Mexican families, who can obtain food at more affordable prices, and for farmers, who have access to first quality inputs.
However, those who have not seen improvements in their daily lives have been the workers, who for years have denounced the scrap metal conditions in which the company finds itself, compromising their safety and their work. An image is enough to illustrate this fact: the belt that transports the finished material, that is, the fertilizer, has holes to the point that only 10 percent of the product reaches the end of the belt, wasting the remaining 90 percent.
In this context, last August 26, unanimously, the 1,200 members of section 274 of the National Union of Mining, Metallurgical, Steel and Similar Workers of the Mexican Republic, together with the 600 trusted employees who joined the petitions, they decided to start a strike against their company.
The workers of the plant located in Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán, sued for violations of their collective agreement, non-compliance with the distribution of profits in accordance with the law, the terrible safety and hygiene conditions in their workplaces and persistent subcontracting practices.
The affronts to the rights of workers in Fertinal come from various fronts. Although we are dealing with a social interest institution that produces for the peasants and farmers of our country, it is also true that the export activities it carries out, adding to the constant effort of the workers, which has resulted in constant increases in their productivity, deserve investment in maintenance to ensure their safety and participation in production. What’s more: despite the fact that Fertinal was acquired by Pemex in a near-bankruptcy situation, section 274 has worked tirelessly, without slowing down, to increase production levels. The most serious? The miners strive every day to save their company, suffering from absolutely poor hygiene and safety conditions: entering the plant is like entering Chernobyl. The reality is unfortunate: Fertinal workers report that there are few spare parts to handle and parts are recycled to repair the industrial machinery with which they operate; Sometimes they wait months for the necessary tools to arrive for their maintenance and correct operation.
Here we have, unfortunately, a classic formula for disaster. The section 274 strike is part of a terrifying reality: daily workers are exposed to various accidents, risking both their physical and mental health and, ultimately, working despite the risk to their integrity. The lack of sensitivity of managers and the evasion of their responsibilities threaten job security in the plant and violate the rights of workers; therefore, the main objective of this mobilization is to seek to correct these deplorable conditions and avoid some irremediable tragedy.
In this sense, the demands of the workers are reasonable and this mobilization is not an affront against a State company, but rather a request for an effective guarantee of hygiene, safety and other dangers for Grupo Fertinal workers. Our solidarity with the workers seeks to promote a stage of negotiation and conciliation, which with dialogue generates a favorable response to the fulfillment of their rights. This position supports our President’s policy to encourage the production of fertilizers in Mexico and give them to the farmers, because otherwise, we would have to import these products from other countries at a higher price and deprive Mexican workers of their jobs. In addition, and we are aware of this, the delivery of these products to farmers promotes national sovereignty and autonomy.
Fertinal has managed to survive and grow thanks to the daily effort of its workers, who have improved productivity despite the daily difficulties at its plant. Undoubtedly, our central purpose is to promote the development of the country, but also that justice be done for the working class, and starting with those at home, that they be treated with dignity. The health, safety and well-being of employees comes first, and the continuity of the company’s high levels of production will depend on it. For this, it is urgent that this conflict be reviewed and resolved quickly and in a timely manner to guarantee the future of the workers and their families.
The case of Fertinal reveals that the road to shared prosperity and respect for labor rights not only passes through the economic aspect, but also through essential elements for the working class to carry out their activities safely and calmly. Job security should not be optional and should not be subject to negotiation, rather it is a minimum condition to work. The union, organization and courage of section 274 is an inspiration in the search for justice, showing once again that it is the workers who lead the social struggle for equality, common welfare and the rights that protect us.
