News Release
Department of Labor, Office of US Trade Representative find labor rights denial at Tizapa mine in Zacazonapan, Mexico
WASHINGTON – The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement today requested the Mexican government conduct a review based on its finding that a denial of workers’ rights has occurred at Minera Tizapa S.A. de C.V., in Zacazonapan.
The request follows a March 4, 2024, petition filed by the Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores Mineros, Metalúrgicos, Siderúrgicos y Similares de la República Mexicana – also known as Los Mineros – alleging Industrias Peñoles, S.A.B. de C.V. violated workers’ freedom of association and collective bargaining rights at their Tizapa mine.
Filed under the USMCA’s Rapid Response Labor Mechanism, the petition alleges Industrias Peñoles refuses to recognize Los Mineros as the workers’ collective bargaining representative, even though Los Mineros defeated another union in a March 3, 2023, vote to determine which union owned the collective bargaining agreement. The petition also alleges the mine’s operators discriminated against Mineros supporters when distributing bonus payments and when dismissing 12 Mineros union leaders illegally.
The USMCA’s Interagency Labor Committee, co-chaired by the department and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, found sufficient and credible evidence supporting the denial of workers’ freedom of association and collective bargaining rights and initiated the review request.
“Actions preventing workers from being represented by the union of their choice are a direct attack on freedom of association and collective bargaining rights, fundamental under the USMCA and guaranteed in the 2019 Mexican labor law reform. We will continue to use the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism to root out those practices,” said Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs Thea Lee. “We look forward to continuing our collaboration with the government of Mexico to investigate these practices and to ensure appropriate remedies where violations are found.”
“By activating the rapid response mechanism, we are reaffirming workers’ rights to freely affiliate with the union of their choice and partake in union activities without discrimination or reprisals. Today’s action unlocks the promise of the USMCA for workers who have been unlawfully dismissed, as well as those who fear that they will be next,” said Ambassador Katherine Tai. “We look forward to extending our collaboration with the Government of Mexico to address the ongoing denials of rights at this facility.”
Mexico’s government has 10 days to decide whether to conduct a review and 45 days to investigate the claims and present its findings.
Operating since 1994, the Tizapa mine yields high-grade zinc, gold, silver and lead ores. The mine is owned jointly by Industrias Peñoles, Dowa Mining and Sumitomo Corp. Tizapa is among the four most important zinc mines in Mexico and employees about 580 workers.
