[CTC] Ex-Mexican Official Says Labor Reforms Linked To TPP Are Foundering

[Stan Sorscher]

Long way of saying labor standards don’t enforce themselves…….

Stan Sorscher
stans at speea.org
206 255 4393



DAILY NEWS

Ex-Mexican Official Says Labor Reforms Linked To TPP Are Foundering

September 22, 2016 

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has run out of the political capital he needs to push labor reforms through his nation's legislature, according to former Mexican Foreign Minister Jorge Castaneda, citing reforms that the U.S. Department of Labor called for earlier this year to ensure compliance with labor provisions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Castaneda, speaking at a Sept. 21 Hudson Institute event focused on relations between the U.S., Mexico and Latin America, said he believes the Obama administration missed an opportunity to do more to promote labor and human rights in Latin America through TPP, especially by not requiring Mexico to have a labor action plan or side letter.

With labor reform legislation proposed by Pena Nieto's <http://insidetrade.com/node/154182> administration earlier this year unlikely to move, and Mexico's adamant stance that labor and human rights are not linked to trade deals, Castaneda said, the best option to address reforms could be a scenario in which Democrat Hillary Clinton is elected president, softens her stance against TPP and demands to renegotiate human and labor rights with countries like Mexico and Peru <http://insidetrade.com/node/155389>.

The U.S. did push Mexico for labor reforms that would ensure the country can live up to its TPP obligations, akin to the consistency plans it developed with Vietnam and Malaysia that are backed by dispute settlement. The Mexican government rejected that approach and insisted any reforms it undertakes will be for its own reasons and independent of TPP.


TPP member states would have to accept that a mandatory labor action plan or side letter for Mexico may mean that government refuses to ratify TPP, Castaneda said.


“I'm in favor of linking trade to labor, human and environmental rights in general,” Castaneda said. “I am not sure I would oppose Hillary Clinton coming back to [TPP] and saying 'Wait a second. You're not Vietnam, you're not Malaysia, but you're certainly not Norway, you're not Chile and you're not Brazil.' Labor rights in Mexico are not at the standards in those countries, let alone Western Europe, and they are not at the standards of many nations in Latin America.”

 Pena Nieto's term ends in 2018, and his administration's popularity is running low after a series of public debacles, which complicates his efforts to move his labor reform legislation, Castaneda said. Presidents only serve one term in Mexico.


 Pena Nieto's administration suffered a wave of public criticism after several people were killed <http://insidetrade.com/node/154910> when federal forces opened fire on teachers protesting against mandatory testing in June. Pena Nieto also drew condemnation for meeting with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, whose campaign rhetoric on trade and immigration has drawn the ire of Mexican citizens and lawmakers. Another controversy involves Pena Nieto and his wife's repeated use of a luxury condo in Miami owned by a wealthy business man, which critics have called a conflict of interest.


 Castaneda added not all unions back the reforms, further complicating efforts to pass the legislation as Mexico prepares for its own presidential election.


“I don't see [Pena Nieto] having the political capital to do that,” Castaneda said of the pending labor reforms.

 Benjamin Davis, international affairs director for the United Steel Workers union, told Inside U.S. Trade that he's still optimistic the Mexican government can pass the labor reforms, though he admitted the package faces a tough road since some politicians voting on the measure have powerful ties to the current labor system.


 The Mexican Congress just got back from its summer break this week, and the nation's labor minister has consistently been vocal on the need to pass Pena Nieto's labor reforms.


 While Pena Nieto is not popular, he does have power over the budget and the executive branch, which gives him leverage in rewarding political allies and enemies when it comes to his labor legislation, Davis said. Pena Nieto also has nearly a year-and-a-half left to push the package through Congress, giving him plenty of time to work out a deal.


 The key question is will reform opponents be able to water down the deal, Davis said.


“Every politician has things they want and in most systems, it's good if you have the leader of the country on your side,” Pena Nieto said. “He may not be a popular guy, but he is a powerful guy. It's probably more important for him to be powerful than popular on something like this.”

 TPP obligates countries to enforce their labor laws and that those laws must reflect the principles endorsed by the International Labor Organization in the 1998 Declaration on the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. These principles include the right to collectively bargain and the right of union members to approve its contract with an employer.


 The Department of Labor and labor groups have flagged problems regarding Mexico's ability to meet its labor obligations in TPP. A recent Labor Department report urged Mexico to adopt pending legislation ensuring the right to associate with unions, but stopped short of finding any actual labor violations since the government was never notified of the problems detailed in the complaint.


 The Labor Department has also given Peru until December to make changes to its laws to ensure compliance with the same labor provisions, which are also included in the existing bilateral U.S.-Peru free trade agreement.


 Labor rights have also been an issue under FTAs with Guatemala, Honduras and Colombia.


 Mexico's reforms require a constitutional amendment, which needs a majority vote in the Senate and Chamber of Deputies. It also requires a majority vote from the states. A constitutional amendment is not as hard to pass in Mexico as it is in the United States, Davis previously said.


 The constitutional reforms would overhaul the labor justice system by doing away with Conciliation and Arbitration Boards (CABs) currently handling labor disputes and shifting their responsibility to federal and local labor courts, and the registration of unions to a newly created Federal Public Administration. The reforms would also set up local conciliatory centers to act as a preliminary venue for workers and employers to handle a dispute, according to an informal translation of the proposal. The preliminary stage would consist of one mandatory hearing, and subsequent hearings would only be held if all parties mutually agree.


 Those local centers would be decentralized and independent, a move meant to insulate them from corruption concerns tied to CABs.


 The legislative reform establishes requirements for registering collective bargaining agreements and sets new timelines and rules for the labor law process and union voting.


 But the reforms only partially address demands from labor groups to get rid of protection contracts, which critics charge violate International Labor Organization principles. The reforms do not expressly repeal protection contracts, as the U.S. had sought, and instead give workers the right to review their contracts, sources have said.


 The reforms would guarantee employees' ability to exercise their freedom of association by ensuring they have access to copies of drafted collective bargaining agreements. -- Nate Robson (nrobson at iwpnews.com <mailto:nrobson at iwpnews.com>)



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