The United Steelworkers union (USW) is using the Canada United States Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) to file a complaint against Vancouver-headquartered Orla Mining Ltd. (TSX,NYSE:ORLA) over its alleged treatment of Mexican miners who have recently unionized.
Workers at the Camino Rojo gold and silver mine in Zacatecas, Mexico, organized under the Mexican Los Mineros union, the USW says in a press release.
The USW alleges Orla Mining has pressured workers to join an “employer-friendly” union instead, and that the workers have faced assaults and death threats, as a result of joining the Los Mineros union.
The USW, in partnership with the Los Mineros union, have filed a complaint under CUSMA, via the Rapid Response Labour Mechanism, calling for an investigation into “continuous and systematic denial of the workers’ rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining.”
The Mexican government has formally recognized Los Mineros as the legal bargaining agent for workers at the Camino Rojo mine, the USW says in a press release.
“However, the mine’s Canadian owner, Orla Mining, has pressured workers to instead join a pro-employer ‘protection’ union,” the USW says.
The USW says that workers at Camino Rojo reported “being intimidated with violence, threats of dismissal and eventually death threats due to their membership in Los Mineros. In the most recent escalation, armed gunmen broke into the home of Jaime Pulido Leon, a local union leader at the mine.
“Mexico has seen a history of corrupt corporations using violence, intimidation and even murder to quell workers’ resistance,” said USW Canadian director Marty Warren. “It would be unacceptable for a Canadian mining company to be associated with these tactics. Workers must be able to organize and join unions without fear.
“This is why we are very hopeful that an independent panel under the CUSMA RRM can adequately investigate the situation, take the required steps to address it, and meet its stated objectives to raise labour standards and protect workers’ rights across North America’s supply chains.”
In an emailed response to the allegations, Andrew Bradbury, vice-president of investor relations and corporate development for Orla Mining, said the company plans to fully co-operate with any investigation that might result from the USW’s application, and respects the rights of workers to chose which union they want to belong to.
“We are aware of a challenge to the existing union representing the Camino Rojo employees,” Bradbury writes. “We respect and support the rights of its employees, including the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining. We remain neutral in respect to union matters and comply with applicable Mexican labour law.
“If there is a new union competing to represent the rights of employees, it is the choice of the employees to determine how they want to be represented.
“We have been made aware of allegations of intimidation from the unions. To be absolutely clear – we take any forms of intimidation or threats of violence against any of our stakeholders very seriously, and we co-operate in any investigation by authorities under Canada-United State-Mexico agreement (CUSMA).”
Orla owns one operating mine in Mexico, and development projects in Nevada and Panama.
