The Union of Telephone Operators of the Mexican Republic (STRM) saved the review of the collective bargaining agreement that it maintains with Telephones of Mexico (Telmex), and which must be carried out every two years, in which, with the intervention of the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (STPS), signed a differentiated salary increase for active and retired; but they did not resolve the substantive conflicts such as the issue of pensions related to new hires and labor liabilities.
The agreement was signed at the facilities of the STPSwith the presence of the head, Luisa María Alcalde, as a witness of honor, who pointed out that “the Secretariat has been established as a space of trust to bring unions and companies closer together, so that dialogue prevails over conflict and collective bargaining is promoted as the heart of labor relations”.
In detailing the agreement, which puts an end to one of the three strike calls maintained by the STRMit was reported that they obtained 4.5% of salary increase for those active and retired workers with incomes of less than 1,122.22 pesos per day, and for those with a higher amount, they will have an increase of 50.50 pesos per day, plus 1.1026% in benefits, said increases will be retroactive to April 25.
Rally after signing
After signing, “to save the collective bargaining agreement”, the general secretary of the STRMFrancisco Hernández Juárez, went to the meeting he held with the workers, to whom he informed that two issues are still pending, with their respective strike calls: retirement linked to new hires and labor liability.
There, in front of the workers, he said that the union strategy was “to leave aside the revision of the collective bargaining agreement, and although it did not occur in the conditions that we expected, the company had to modify and improve a proposal to reach the agreement” .
However, he recognized that “the differentiated salary continues to be a problem, but the majority (in the Assembly) opted for the review to save the collective bargaining agreement, we left the review resolved; but now the two most complicated issues come, one not so much, such as the labor liability -in exchange for seniority shares- for those who want it, it is a voluntary agreement and the second issue that is related to the pension and the workers of new entry.
Hernández Juárez revealed that there are seven differences with the company in these two aspects, above all because Telmex he stopped contributing, for seven years, the money that he was supposed to contribute; and “refuses to put the money that is missing, which in total adds up to 100,000 million pesos, since the pension fund should be at 240,000 million pesos; since they also took money from here to meet the employer’s obligations to retirees”.
It should be noted that the National General Assembly of telephone operators agreed to extend the two remaining appointments for June 29.
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