United States seek’s Mexico’s review of denial of Workers’ Rights at Minera Camino Rojo Mining Facility

For the ninth time in 2024 and the twenty-seventh time overall, the United States has sought Mexico’s review under the USMCA’s Rapid Response Labor Mechanism.

United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced today that the United States has asked Mexico to review whether workers at the Minera Camino Rojo facility, which specializes in extracting and producing gold and silver, are being denied the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining. The United States has suspended liquidation on unliquidated entries of goods from the facility. The request, which was made in response to a petition, marks the twenty-seventh time the United States has formally invoked the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM) in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

“Today’s decision highlights the United States’ persistent and unwavering commitment to safeguarding workers’ rights to engage in union activities safely and freely associate with the union of their choice without fear of retaliation or violence,” said Ambassador Katherine Tai. “We look forward to collaboration with the Government of Mexico to address the ongoing denials of rights at this facility.”

“We are committed to ensuring that freedom of association and collective bargaining rights for workers are fully respected,” said Deputy Undersecretary for International Labor Affairs Thea Lee. “Through the Rapid Response Mechanism, the United States and Mexico have been able to address violations of these fundamental labor rights quickly and effectively in over 20 instances. In this new case, we look forward to working with the government of Mexico to make sure workers at the Camino Rojo mine can fully exercise their rights.”

Background

The United States Trade Representative and the Secretary of Labor co-chair the Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement (ILC). On June 24, 2024 the ILC received a RRM petition from Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores Mineros, Metalúrgicos, Siderúrgicos y Similares de la República Mexicana (Mineros) alleging a denial of rights at Minera Camino Rojo, S.A. de C.V., a mine owned by Canada-based Orla Mining, Ltd., which produces gold and silver in the Mazapil municipality in the state of Zacatecas.

The petition alleges that the Camino Rojo mine interfered with union affairs at the facility by disparaging and undermining the strength of workers’ support for the titular union, Mineros, and promoting the affiliation of workers to an external union, the Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Exploración, Explotación Y Beneficio de Minas en la Republica Mexicana (a union affiliated to the Federación Nacional de Sindicatos Independientes, or FNSI).

The ILC reviewed the petition and relevant information and determined that there is sufficient, credible evidence of a denial of rights enabling the good faith invocation of the USMCA rapid response mechanism. As a result, the United States Trade Representative has submitted a request to Mexico that Mexico review whether workers at Camino Rojo are being denied the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining. Mexico has 10 days to agree to conduct a review and, if it agrees, 45 days from today to complete the review.