Photo: Panasonic

By THE PULSE NEWS MEXICO STAFF

U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai asked Mexico on Wednesday, May 18, to investigate claims that workers at a Panasonic auto parts factory in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, had been denied their basic labor rights.

The complaint, rooted in efforts to improve workplace conditions in Mexico compared to those in the United States and Canada, represented the third labor grievance registered by the USTR under the newly enacted United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

In a letter to Mexican Economy Secretary Tatiana Clouthier, Tai stated that the United States was concerned that workers at Panasonic Automotive Systems de México had been denied the right of free association and collective bargaining, a clear breach of the USMCA.

According to the Panasonic workers’ representative, Panasonic signed a union contract behind workers’ backs and fired dozens of employees for protesting.

In both cases, the issues were resolved without the imposition of USMCA sanctions.