Grupo Modelo seeks to avoid headcount

Note published in Reforma, Negocios [Business] Section by Verónica Gascón.
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Note published in El Norte, Negocios [Business] Section by Verónica Gascón.
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Note published in Mural, Business Section by Verónica Gascón.
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Grupo Modelo filed a petition for a writ of amparo in order to stay the headcount in regard to a collective bargaining agreement in a Zacatecas plant, scheduled for 4 in the morning of next Wednesday, because it violates the right to health of workers.

The company’s lawyer, Oscar de la Vega, said that the Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Board notified the date for the headcount on Friday afternoon; nevertheless, the company believes that it is ill-judged to conduct this headcount given the red epidemiological traffic light in the Municipality of Calera, where the Compañía Cervecera de Zacatecas (Grupo Modelo) is located,

“The Board set the date for the headcount to take place this Wednesday at 4 in the morning, despite the fact that the epidemiological traffic light is orange and, particularly given the place where the plant is located, in Calera de Víctor Rosales: this Municipality is in red, given the number of deaths.

“The position of the company is that it respects the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining but, in face of the right to health, we believe that this is imprudent. We are going to file a petition for a writ of amparo because the workers’ right to health is being violated”, stated De la Vega.

The certification for entering into the collective bargaining agreement is currently held by the National Union of Workers and Employees of the Food, Beverage Industry and their Derivatives of the Mexican Republic, which is currently ascribed to the CTM.

And the union demanding the certification there of is the Independent Union of Workers of the Compañía Cervecera de Zacatecas.

The company’s lawyer stated that the Board granted less than 48 hours for organizing the headcount voting, which is insufficient time, given that the logistics to guarantee the health of the participants are complicated, as there are 1,355 workers at the plant.

He explained that around one hundred of the workers are currently at their homes because they are considered to be part of the vulnerable group.

These headcount procedures to determine the certification for handling the collective bargaining agreement in work centers occurs within the framework of the labor reform.

In the opinion of De la Vega, the fact that, in order to call a strike, unions must already hold a certificate of representativity is a watershed.

Additionally, any agreement reached with the unions will require the certification by more than 50 percent of the workers.

“Workers will be the ones who will be able to decide whether this agreement reached by their representatives is appropriate or not; this is when real leaderships are going to be put to the test”, underlined De la Vega.