By Laura Carlsen
http://americasprogram.wordpress.com/2009/10/12/calderon-government-send...
Last Saturday, before scheduled
Monday talks between the Central Light and Energy Company (LFC) and the
government, federal police were ordered to take over more than 50
electrical installations just before midnight. The police assaulted the
premises by jumping fences and using metal-cutters to break chains and
locks. Just moments after the security forces occupied the premises,
President Felipe Calderon issued an executive decree to liquidate the
company. The move seeks to open the state-owned utility up for
privatization and eliminate one of the nation’s most active independent
unions.
The decree follows a union conflict that
the government fueled and then took advantage of to eliminate the
company and its union. The union elections last June were contested by
the losing group amid rumors that the federal government was actively
fomenting division. In a warning sign, on Oct. 5 the Secretary of
Labor, Javier Lozano, rejected registration of the new union leadership
without waiting for a decision from the Labor Tribunal.
What’s been dubbed the “Sabadazo” or
Saturday Offensive took place when the union and the government were in
the middle of talks and awaiting a promised response from the Calderon
administration. Once again, the Mexican government showed a propensity
for unilateral blows and the use of force over dialogue. Although it
had previously taken aggressive stands against unions, this is by far
the biggest union-busting measure yet and has sparked widespread
indignation among workers and the public.
In the middle of an economic crisis that
has stripped a million people from jobs in the formal sector, some
44,000 families of electrical workers have been left without a
breadwinner from one day to the next. The government has said it will
pay more than $1.6 billion dollars in severance pay and benefits to the
workers and over 22,000 retirees of the company. The union says members
will not accept the buy-off package.
The reasons for liquidating the Central
Light and Energy Company (LFC), a decentralized company of the federal
Energy Commission, were 1) excessive losses, 2) energy loss due to
technical causes and lack of payment for services, and 3) excessive
costs for public works. Union leaders state that much of this is due to
the government’s own mishandling in the administration of the entity
and the lack of public investment in the company. The company receives
massive state subsidies for its operations. President Felipe Calderon
and the ministers of Energy, Government, Treasury, Social Development,
Economy, Communications, Labor, Public Works, Environment and
Agriculture signed the decree.
The Mexican Electrical Workers Union
(SME, by its Spanish initials) is among the most active and independent
unions in a country that has been dominated by government-affiliated
unions. Its membership has led the many battles for defense of labor
rights and standard of living in the country. SME leader, Martin
Esparza, declared the Calderon takeover “unconstitutional” and has
vowed to fight against the liquidation of the company and of the union
contract. In a joint interview on MSVRadio, he spoke alongside the
defeated union candidate, Alejandro Munoz, in which both declared
common cause to fight against the administration’s union-busting move.
The union made it clear to the public
that any interruption in services would be the fault of removing
trained union electricians. The country has reported some power outages
although so far service remains overall. Government spokespersons have
attempted to blame the union for any interruption of services, stating
that it expected acts of “sabotage.” The union adamantly denied having
any intention of interrupting services.
There have been constant demonstrations
since the middle-of-the-night takeover Saturday. Sunday’s march drew of
thousands of demonstrators, chanting slogans against the Calderon
administration and in defense of workers’ rights. One worker told this
observer that even though they expected a long battle, the workers
would not give up and had already received support from other Mexican
unions and the public.
A flyer handed out at Sunday’s
demonstration, which blocked major streets in the downtown area, notes
“The federal government, through Javier Lozano Alarcon head of the
Ministry of Labor, has decided to declare war on Mexican workers and
especially on the Mexican Electrical Workers Union faced with its
absolute failure to comply with the campaign promises of Felipe
Calderon Hinojosa.”
It states that Calderon came to office
promising employment and that so far in his term 1,200,000 jobs have
been lost and real wages have plummeted. “What is at the bottom [of
these acts] is the attempt to liquidate LFC, to privatize the
electrical industry.” The government has long wanted to privatize the
state-owned company as part of the third generation of structural
reforms dictated by the World Bank and since the fiber optics networks
are coveted by powerful economic groups in the private sector allied
with the administration.
The union planned to present evidence of
contract violations at the Monday meeting and enter a grievance in the
courts, which according to Mexican legislation is the step prior to
declaring a strike. The administration’s take over of the installations
and plan to liquidate the entire company was a pre-emptive move to deny
workers a right to defend their labor rights through strike if
necessary. Six thousand police and security agents were sent to control
the installations. There have been reports of minor skirmishes.
Luis Hernandez Navarro of La Jornada
writes that the SME is the oldest union in the nation, founded in 1914.
Internally, the union has a structure that combines frequent assemblies
and elections with referendums and maintains real participation of the
rank-and-file. Hernandez concludes, “The police and military assault on
the electrical workers is a serious step backwards in the democratic
life of the country. It provokes a major short circuit. It establishes
a terrible precedent. It attempts to resolve a conflict created by the
government itself through violence and takes us back to the darkest
stages of authoritarianism. Three years into his administration, Felipe
Calderon’s weakness is severe. His latest move against labor will
deepen it even more.”
The decree to liquidate the LFC
effectively liquidates one of the country’s most active and democratic
unions at a time when the defense of workers’ rights is crucial.
The government has said it is not
privatizing the state-owned enterprise but Esparza revealed that two
former Secretaries of Energy, Fernando Canales Clariond and Ernesto
Martens, have formed a private company to use the publicly funded LFC
fiber optic network for Internet and voice services called WL
Communications. Esparza reports that
the businessmen have already negotiated government discounts and
subsidies for the lucrative enterprise. The pattern is familiar—the
majority of Mexico’s billionaires made their initial fortunes off state
privatizations under scandalous terms during the Salinas administration.
The union is appealing to the Congress
and the courts to declare the takeover of LFC unconstitutional. Major
demonstrations will be held all week. Labor organizations around the
world have issued declarations of protest against the Calderon
antiunion action and in support of the SME.
Note to readers: The Americas Program
will continue to cover this major event in Mexican history. We do not
anticipate an interruption of services but when an entire trained
workforce is replaced overnight, problems can occur. We receive our
power from LFC. If you don’t hear from us, it is because we have
experienced a problem and will seek other means of communication.
Letters can be sent to:
President Felipe Calderon at felipe.calderon@presidencia.gob.mx
Mexican Electrical Workers Union (SME) sinmexel@sme.org.mx
