The General Council of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has voted to suspend the membership of the Mexican ‘yellow’ union Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM) – who were recently implicated in the murder of two activists of the Los Mineros union in Mexico- and the Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Campesinos (CROC).
Both of these organisations have a record of collaborating with employers to maintain low wages by promoting yellow unions and opposing independent unions.
They were suspended along with eight other right wing unions in Latin America that formed the “Democratic Union Alternative” (ADS) group (which has recently been in Washington meeting with Republican members of Congress and seeking U.S. government funding.
Their suspension signifies immediate loss of voting rights, and will lead to a vote on full expulsion at the next ITUC Congress in December 2018.
The TUC in the UK, the US AFL-CIO and the Canadian CLC strongly supported the decision.
In the context of the NAFTA and EU-Mexico FTA negotiations, suspension of the CTM and CROC should be seen as a victory for trade union democracy and a step towards justice for Mexican workers.
Thanks to Ben Davis of the United Steelworkers
