This submission was filed on August 16, 1994, by four workers' rights and human rights organizations, headed by the International Labor Rights Education and Research Fund (ILRERF). The submission concerned the operations of a subsidiary of the Sony Corporation in Mexico and involved allegations concerning freedom of association and the right to organize plus minimum employment standards. Following the information gathering process and the conduct of a public hearing on February 13, 1995, the NAO issued a report on April 11, 1995, recommending ministerial consultations on the issue of union registration in Mexico. The ministers reached an agreement on implementation of ministerial consultations, which included a series of programs designed to publicly address these concerns in all three countries, and these were completed during 1995 and 1996.
The submitters in the case subsequently requested that the Ministerial Consultations be reopened, arguing that the problems raised in the original submission continued. The Secretary of Labor directed the NAO to conduct a follow-up review of the issues raised in the submission, and a related Mexican Supreme Court Decision, and submit a report to him. The NAO conducted the follow-up review as directed and a report was issued on December 4, 1996.