Workers at a Tamaulipas factory.
Twenty-four hours after a strike shut down dozens of factories in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, on Friday, 14 employers agreed to union demands for a 20% increase in workers’ salaries and a 32,242-peso bonus (US $1,700).
Some of the remaining maquiladoras, as the factories are known, are expected leave Tamaulipas.
NP Mexico Company, A.F.X Industries, Matamoros Glass and Doors, Core Composites Mexico, CTS Electric, Polytech Netting Industries Mexico, Inteva Mexico and Tidi Mexico were among the companies that ceded to the demands of more than 32,000 workers belonging to the Union of Laborers and Industrial Workers of the Maquiladora Industry (SJOIIM) who went on strike on Friday afternoon.
SJOIIM president Juan Villafuerte Morales told reporters that the bonus will be paid to workers in four parts in February, May, August and November. Villafuerte said the union’s demands are independent of the federal government’s recent doubling of the minimum wage in the region.
Despite negotiations between the union and several companies, the strike is expected to have negative repercussions at a national and international level. Villafuerte said the he expects at least three maquiladoras to leave Tamaulipas.
The state Conciliation and Arbitration Board recused itself from talks between 13 companies that have not reached agreements and union leaders, referring the negotiations to federal authorities.
There are 115 maquiladoras in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, that employ 131,920 workers, according to statistics from the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS).
Source: El Financiero (sp)
