Note published in El Economista, Empresas [Companies] section by María del Pilar Martínez.
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Isaías González Cuevas, leader of the CROC [Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants], stated that they are working jointly with several union organizations to present a proposal that contributes to improving the pensions of the majority of workers, who do not have special retirement schemes.
While pensions are at stake for some workers, others enjoy the benefits of belonging to a Mexican State company which, far from making modifications in their retirement systems, lower the age for receiving the benefit of a pension, stated specialists.
Such is the case of the Mexican Telephone Workers Union (STRM), which faces a complicated contractual revision with Teléfonos de México, as they have requested the elimination of Clause 149 of the CCT [Collective Bargaining Agreement], regarding the retirement of newly hired telephone workers.
Meanwhile, the Sole Union of Electrical Workers of the Mexican Republic (SUTERM) was able to restore their system of pensions for the benefit of all workers; however, a new agreement must be drafted for non-union employees, who receive the same benefits of the collective bargaining agreement of unionized workers.
Isaías González Cuevas, leader of the Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants (CROC), stated that they are working jointly with several union organizations to present a proposal that contributes to improving the pensions of the majority of workers, who do not have special retirement schemes.
“The topic of pensions in our country is a pending matter in the national agenda, we have repeatedly asked for its revision, with the objective of updating the system that governs them to meet current life conditions. The risk currently exists not only of having numerous workers obtain pensions below one minimum wage in coming years, but many of them could be literally left out of the retirement savings system. We have proposed that the current system be covered in a comprehensive, plural and extensive discussion that updates it in accordance with very specific objectives”, he said in an interview.
He pointed out that the main objective must be, without a doubt, to guarantee a fair and sufficient pension for workers; given the volume of the collected resources, we are not opposed to their being invested to produce benefits, as long as the profits and returns obtained from the investments in question are distributed properly and they guarantee pensions for the workers.
For his part, labor specialist Ricardo Martínez Rojas stated that there is no doubt that, in cases of unions with their own retirement schemes, it is considered to be a victory for the workers; however “there are pension schemes – such as the case of the Suterm, the IMSS [Mexican Social Security Institute] and Pemex – in which it must be made clear that they cannot reach the point of forcing the company into bankruptcy, making the company go against all of its finances. If the pension systems of the state-owned companies were to decrease by 40%, said companies would operate at a profit, that is just how big the hole is”.
