A new agreement will be drafted in Saint Gobain

Note published on November 1 in Reforma, Negocios [Business] Section by Verónica Gascón.
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Note published on November 1 in Mural, Negocios [Business] Section by Verónica Gascón.
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The Saint Gobain company is ready to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement with the independent union that won representativeness, stated the company’s legal representative Óscar de la Vega.

Given that the company made a commitment to respect the workers’ decision of electing an independent union as their representative, a complaint that had been filed under the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism within the framework of the USMCA was deactivated.

“The company acknowledged that the union was elected by the majority of the workers and is willing to negotiate with this union a new collective bargaining agreement that will benefit the workers”, said De la Vega in an interview.

He added that the company has begun to approach the members of the Union Committee, although the date for starting negotiations is yet to be defined.

In a letter distributed to the personnel, the Firm made a commitment to reject any act of disinformation, intimidation, coercion, violence or retaliation against workers because of their union affiliation or preference.

It said that it will enforce a zero-tolerance policy in case of any internal or external activity that violates the workers’ collective and labor rights.

The company also set up an email address for workers to express their nonconformity and complaints and to allow it to respond in a more immediate manner, the lawyer explained.

The Department of Labor informed that the U.S. decided not to file a request for the review of the amparo procedure of the USMCA Mechanism against Saint Gobain.

The acts that were investigated were acts of intimidation, discrimination and violence against the personnel who supported the Independent Union of Saint Gobain Workers.

De la Vega said that the Federal Center of Labor Conciliation and Registration will monitor the negotiation processes between the parties and the United States Government will also monitor the situation to ensure that the company respects the rights of the workers.