Courses on labor reform to empower workers

Given the profound changes that were made to the Federal Labor Law since 2019, and because it is the workers who must “take ownership” of the labour reformthe Open and Distance University of Mexico (UnADM), of the Secretary of Public Educationthe Network of Women Trade Unionists (RMS) in collaboration with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation launched ten online courses on the 2019 Labor Reform.

The modules they present are focused on strengthening labor rights, so that any worker can understand, know and apply them to their reality, with a practical sense.

According to Esteba Martínez Mejía, the Liaison Unit for the Reform of the Labor Justice System commented in the presentation that the 2019 labor reform brought with it a series of changes to the world of work related to democracy and union freedom; true collective bargaining; Gender equality; trade union transparency and accountability; the new labor law, including mandatory conciliation, so it is convenient to know the labor model as a whole.

The importance of the courses, explained Inés González, from the Red de Mujeres Sindicalistas, is that “with the legal modifications it is intended to gradually end the simulation of worker-employer labor relations that, for decades, affected individual rights and collectives of the workers”.

However, he stressed that “it is time for the workers, but at a general level, there is a great lack of knowledge about the 2019 labor reform and what can be achieved individually and collectively to improve working conditions and lives of millions of working people in Mexico”.

In this context, the Red de Mujeres Sindicalistas and the Universidad Abierta y Distancia de México signed a collaboration agreement to offer the working population 10 courses that address key aspects of Labor Reform 2019about new labor rights and how workers in Mexico can exercise them.

The courses are designed for the working class, whether unionized or not. In addition, anyone interested in the issues of the 2019 Labor Reform can take them. Labor lawyers, academics, educators and trade unionists participated in the design of the courses, which made it possible to obtain high-quality and easy-to-understand products for people, regardless of their academic level.

The courses, which are free, are mainly aimed at workers, in which there will be an average time investment for each course: 10 hours, they are self-managed because there is no online tutor, in addition to a certificate of the Open and Distance University of Mexicosince these are part of the continuous education offer of the UnADM – SEP.

The first course is available from December 7, 2022 and, for the following 6 months, all courses will be available on the UnADM platform: To register, visit the site.

A notable aspect of the courses is that they were prepared with a gender perspective, which places them as an innovative, modern and affordable product so that workers can learn about the central elements and new rights that are established from the labor reform of 2019. The contents will be progressively assembled on the UnADM-SEP platform until they are fully available on May 1, 2023.