Electronic voting grants transparency and legitimacy to collective bargaining agreements in Mexico

As a result of the use of electronic voting in Mexico to renew union leaders, many companies and unions have placed it high on their agenda.

The pioneer in this practice was the Union of Petroleum Workers of the Mexican Republic (STPRM), when around 72,000 workers elected their leaders last March.

It was recently followed by the National Association of Actors (ANDA), where its more than 1,000 members elected the members of its new Executive Committee.

In both cases, the electronic voting modality was used, and the General Guidelines for Trade Union Democracy Procedures, established by the Federal Center for Conciliation and Labor Registration (CFCRL), whose purpose is to implement the criteria for attention, verification and organization of labor voting processes. Among these, the legitimization of collective labor contracts, revisions and elections of union directors stand out.

Free and secret ballots

Specifically, achieving consensus around labor agreements is a requirement that companies and unions will have to meet within the framework of the Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada (T-MEC), from the Labor Reform and in accordance with the Law of the Federal of Labor, the workers will have to vote to legitimize the collective contracts and ratify that they know them.

With a deadline of May 1, 2023, this provision must be complied with and guarantee that the vote is carried out in a safe, direct, personal, free and secret manner.

From the perspective of Luis Pardo Montarelo, Manager of Electoral Processes at Minsait, an Indra company, carrying out a vote of this nature within companies located in the country can be quite complex. “Significant economic resources and extensive mobilization of personnel are required to carry out a vote in which security is guaranteed, preserving the personal, free and secret vote, as well as the freedom of expression of the workers,” he affirms.

In this context, the use of electronic voting is consolidated as a simple, agile, safe and less expensive way compared to voting in person. Each worker, explains the executive, must be included in the list provided by the union, so that he can cast his vote from any place and device, without having to download software or a particular application.

It is the responsibility of the union, in the first instance, to opt for this mechanism, as well as to provide the pertinent information to its members. And most importantly, make them aware of the details of what will be voted on: ratification or review of the employment contract, its content, the names of the candidates to lead the union and their work plans.

The legitimization of collective bargaining agreements applies to all companies in the country, but it is also a requirement to exchange products and services with business partners within the framework of the T-MEC. If it is not complied with, it will be the companies that will be subject to sanctions, but not the unions. Hence the importance of close collaboration and communication between both parties, and encourage the participation of workers.

Although an electronic voting solution developed by official labor organizations has been used, the unions have at their disposal platforms that have been used successfully in Mexico and other countries, which comply with the security measures required by the CFCRL.

“Minsait’s technological solutions allow carrying out processes to legitimize collective contracts and reviews, so that workers can cast a safe, direct, personal, free, secret and agile vote,” says Pardo.

Being hosted in the cloud, he explains, the solution can be configured quickly, in addition to formulating different types of questions and having a simple interface that can be used on any electronic device, be it cell phones, laptops, tablets and desktop computers.

“One of the relevant characteristics is that it has the algorithms to guarantee that the vote is anonymous and secret. There is no way to link a person to her vote, ”she indicates. “In addition to providing transparency by guaranteeing that a person votes only once, as long as they are registered in the voter registry.”

Safety crucial

One of the strengths of a technology-based system is double-factor authentication, which prevents a third party from casting a vote for the registered person, in addition to the use of Blockchain technology to avoid any alteration in the process. Added to this is the fact that each vote is encrypted and signed using state-of-the-art cryptographic algorithms, ensuring the security and privacy of the vote.

“Security measures are very important in an event of this nature,” says Luis Pardo. “And a particular emphasis has been placed on it. Once the votes are cast, they are kept in a vault guarded by authorized representatives who have a key, and a minimum number of these people must meet to have access to said vault, ”he adds.

The executive highlights other benefits of electronic voting, such as promoting the participation of workers, who can do so from their homes and personal devices; even do it within the company if you wish. In addition, voting can take place over several days, which offers an advantage over a face-to-face process, in which the ballot boxes have to be set up and the necessary personnel and materials deployed.

“And the economic factor has a great weight when choosing an electronic voting platform,” says the executive. “It is even something that the Mexican government has promoted, since it does not require large budgets, something that fits in with its austerity policy, and prevents intimidation and coercion practices, he points out.

In the coming years, more use cases will undoubtedly be added, such as state and federal elections in the country. In the trade union sphere, the implementation of electronic voting is expected in the next elections of the Workers’ Union of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (STUNAM).

Although the debate around electronic voting persists, the truth is that it will be a practice that gains ground as the digital transformation continues with the inertia that it took as a result of the pandemic.

With information from Nicholas Lucas.