Disappearance of collective contracts and union activism, challenges for HR in 2023

“If we are thinking that 95% of the companies after May 1, 2023 will not have a collective agreement, we are going to enter a reality for which we are not ready,” said Luis Monsalvo, co-directing partner of the Monsalvo Duclaud firm. . The specialist’s perception is linked to the estimates of the labor authorities themselves: it is likely that more little more 90% of collective labor contracts (CCT) registered in the country are not legitimized.

The legitimization of the CCT is an obligation that was established with the labor reform of 2019, next year the four-year term established to comply with it expires. Contracts that are not legitimized or that are rejected by the majority of workers will disappear and working conditions will be protected in individual contracts.

This scenario, considered Luis Monsalvo, implies that companies through their Human Resources areas have more contact with people to return to basics: know how they are and what worries them. “Perhaps we have been too afraid to ask, because there was always the risk that any union could arrive, even if you had just opened the company or everyone in your restaurant were your relatives, and tell you ‘these are with my members and here is your location at strike’, but that has already changed”.

For Alfredo Kupfer, partner of the Sánchez Devanny firm, in this scenario, a challenge for the human capital areas next year is the growth of new union leaders and the promotion of independent unions.

“There is a transformation of the union system. The large centrals are leaving their doors open and there is no infrastructure to serve those 500,000 collective contracts that exist. Those spaces are going to be filled with new leaders and perhaps we still don’t see them. Maybe they are taking place within the companies and that is why it is so important to have constant insights into what is happening in the company”, he affirmed.

during the forum Outlook 2023 of the Mexican Association in Human Resources Management (Amedirh), the specialist highlighted that the departments of labor Relations they need to review compliance with all legal provisions.

“Today we have the United States demanding that the Mexican government increase inspections, make them deeper and that the fines be greater. The recommendation for the following year is to review all compliance with everything we have to do in individual matters, in the matter of teleworking, subcontracting and in the collective aspect. Lack of knowledge in labor relations management and a lot of training is required, the teams must be prepared to manage relations with the unions”, stated Alfredo Kupfer.

In this sense, Luis Monsalvo recognized that union activism in a company is related to deficiencies and dissociation of the companies with the workers. “Who is going to take the lead in your company. Companies should be forming labor relations cadres to have that contact with people to find out what is happening to them and what is worrying them”.

Quick pressure response mechanism

The specialists convened by Amedirh also emphasized the role of the T-MEC rapid response mechanism to resolve disputes and its impact on labor relations in Mexico. In this sense, Alfredo Kupfer explained that this medium is not only limited to export companies.

“It is not only for export companies, the mechanism itself states that, although there are certain priority sectors, these will be increased year by year, but, in addition, it is only an illustrative list, it can be applied to any industry and it even opens the door to the service sector. This should really concern all those responsible for Human Resources ”, he pointed out.

The rapid response mechanism is a model that was incorporated into the T-MEC to resolve complaints for denial of fundamental rights such as freedom of union association or collective bargaining.

For this reason, Alfredo Kupfer recommended that companies review their internal policies and measures to verify that they are not interpreted as actions that the mechanism recognizes as denial of rights.

“We have to be careful in the way in which we carry out the relationship with our unions, because some action can put us in that situation, in which an effective collective bargaining is not taking place and that the actions are interpreted as a limitation or prohibition of that right that workers have to choose your union. In Human Resources we must be very clear about this ”, pointed out the specialist.