The United States and Mexico jointly declared a strategy to rectify rights violations at the Industrias del Interior (INISA) garment facility in the state of Aguascalientes. This announcement signifies the sixth instance where the two countries agreed on a formal remediation plan under the Facility-Specific Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM) of the United-States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), according to an Aug. 9 news release.
“We will closely monitor this remediation plan to ensure workers at the INISA facility can freely exercise their freedom of association and collective bargaining rights,” Ambassador Katherine Tai said in the release. “Today’s announcement reflects how continued collaboration between the United States and Mexico leads to concrete and effective measures to address existing labor violations and prevent new ones.”
This collaborative step comes after the U.S. submitted a request June 12, 2022, urging Mexico to investigate potential violations of freedom of association and collective bargaining rights for workers at INISA, the release reported. Subsequently, Mexico confirmed such rights' denials and expressed commitment to address them.
In line with the remediation process, the Mexican government outlined a comprehensive strategy to rectify infringements on Mexican law at the INISA facility, according to the release. The measures presented within this plan aim to both address existing violations and establish mechanisms to prevent future breaches.
The plan includes provisions requiring INISA to publicly commit to respecting workers' rights to association and collective bargaining, uphold neutrality regarding union choices, abstain from interfering with union activities and refrain from influencing workers' perspectives on unions. Additional steps encompass the formulation of transparent guidelines for personnel conduct, the implementation of a zero-tolerance policy for guideline violations, comprehensive training for personnel and union representatives, the establishment of anonymous reporting channels and the initiation of sanctions proceedings when Mexican law is violated, the release said.
The agreement between the U.S. and Mexico stipulates a deadline of Nov. 10, 2023, for the completion of the remediation course. The background of this development involves the Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement, co-chaired by the U.S. Trade Representative and the Secretary of Labor, the release reported.
The Interagency Labor Committee received a rapid response mechanism petition May 12 from the Frente Auténtico del Trabajo, a Mexican labor organization, and the Sindicato de Industrias del Interior, a workers' union at the INISA facility. The petition presented claims of employer interference and failure to negotiate in good faith by INISA, prompting a review that confirmed a denial of rights. This, in turn, led to the joint decision by the U.S. and Mexico to embark on the remediation process, the release said.
