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Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: 202/219-7316.
The United States National Administrative Office (NAO)
today issued its public report of review on a complaint alleging violations of
freedom of association and the right to organize at Sony Corporation's
maquiladora plants in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico.
The NAO was established in the U.S. Department of Labor
under the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC), which is
commonly referred to as the labor side agreement to the North American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
The report released today is the result of a submission
filed Aug. 16, 1994, by four human rights and workers' rights organizations. It
was accepted for review by the NAO on Oct. 13, 1994. The submission alleged
that Mexican labor laws were not followed when workers at the plant challenged
the existing union for more democratic representation and for collaborating
with company management.
Approximately 2100 workers, 80 percent women, work at five
plants in Nuevo Laredo making computer disks and video/audio cassette tapes.
The complaint with the U.S. NAO was filed on their behalf by the International
Labor Rights Education and Research Fund, the National Association of
Democratic Lawyers, the coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras, and the
American Friends Service Committee.
In the report, the U.S. NAO recommends trinational
exchange programs on several industrial relations issues, and further
recommends ministerial consultations between Secretary of Labor Robert B. Reich
and Mexican Secretary of Labor Santiago O¤ate. The goal of the
consultations is to further explore the operation of the union registration
process in Mexico.
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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