"Mexico notches win in labor dispute over alleged violations at mine", 27 April 2024

...Last year, the United States requested a probe into alleged worker rights abuses at a Grupo Mexico, opens new tab mine in the central Mexican state of Zacatecas.

Mexico argued that the United States-Mexico-Canada trade accord did not apply, as the alleged labor violations occurred before the pact went into effect in 2020...

"This ruling ... sets a precedent of not allowing retroactivity in trade agreements," Mexico's economy and labor ministries said...

Grupo Mexico had previously said the mine resumed operations in 2018 with worker approval, though the union alleges bargaining was carried out with a group of unauthorized employees. The U.S. complaint last year cited a request from a Mexican miners union led by Napoleon Gomez, a close ally of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and currently a ruling party senator, in addition to two major U.S. labor organizations. A lawyer for the union told Reuters it was waiting for confirmation of the panel's decision before commenting.

Mexican officials argued that while they found that Grupo Mexico had "repeatedly denied workers freedom of association and collective bargaining over 16 years," the issue was being handled by national authorities. The company applauded the Mexican government's "successful defense of our country's sovereignty," in a statement on Friday...