As is usual with me, I was nosing around in an event that, although not closely related with the sector that we are passionate about, ICTs, I was interested in attending because of its name and the topics that would be covered, the Labor Reform and, specifically, outsourcing.
The first thing is to acknowledge that the event organized by the De la Vega y Martínez Rojas Law Firm (D&M Abogados) was pretty dazzling and the topics covered were very well chosen.
Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the whole event, which lasted a full day but, since I am a lucky reporter, I heard several intriguing points of view that I consider to be very interesting and which I leave to you as questions: Is there a labor life without unions? Is all outsourcing bad?
The thing is that almost a year after the Labor Reform and within the context of the discussion in the Senate on the possibility of a new regulation on outsourcing, we see two positions that, if I were an entrepreneur, I would take into account that forewarned is forearmed.
And, as the experts recommended, the moment has come for the analysis of labor relations between companies and their employees, for considering the quandary of living without unions or with union groups that are responsible and honest because, otherwise, the changes that are coming in the labor field may leave companies poorly prepared and, to make matters even worse, these companies may face the possibility of a brake and a rigorous control on outsourcing.
They say that the time has come to be preventive, to offer benefits or labor conditions that demotivate the need for having union representation in order to get into a kind of competition between the company and the union, to see who can offer better incentives to the workers.
However, José Jorge Carbajal Smith, a lawyer of the Mexican Electrical Workers Union (SME) was there and asked: Is outsourcing the option to unionization ? Ohhhhhh…..
The answer was that each company has the option of choosing unionism or not choosing it but, if it accepts it, it must be through the return of a responsible and honest unionism.
Later, on an curbside interview with Carbajal Smith, he told us that it is true that the company may start from unionization or non-unionization, but the door is left open for everyone to be responsible for their actions; nevertheless, the SME does not agree with this idea because they believe that every company must have a union; obviously, a democratic union that fulfills all voting and workers’ training requirements are met.
He says that the SME is a democratic, legal and honest union and that it hasn’t had the need to make many changes to its bylaws given that for more than 50 years their electoral processes have been conducted by direct voting. For example: for them retirees have always been part of the union and there are a number of retirees who have voluntarily continued to pay their union dues and they continue to have all of their rights, this being the only union that acknowledges their rights, such as the right to vote on union decisions.
He explained that Martín Esparza holds the document attesting to the registration of the union, although the electoral process for ratifying Esparza begins in April and ends in July; 50% of the committee will also be elected on this date, but in accordance with the provisions of the reform, with which they do not fully agree.
For example, the SME is against outsourcing because they claim that it is being sought to substitute unions through outsourcing. In the opinion of the electrical workers there is neither good or bad outsourcing, it is all bad because the only thing that can be contracted is work, but when the work force is being sold, when there is contract between people to sell the work force, it is totally irregular.
They believe that it cannot be said that there is good outsourcing only because there is compliance with the laws on tax matters; in their opinion, it is all bad because once the matter is being negotiated through a civil and commercial contract, work is being denaturalized and we enter the area of labor conflict.
Isn’t this debate interesting? What would uncle GIN think about all of this? Will there be a reform? Toward which side will senators lean?
Note published in TecnoEmpresa, Congreso [Congress] section by Hugo González
