IMF attends ITF Congress in Mexico

MEXICO: With more than a thousand participants, the world congress of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) is taking place between August 5-12 in Mexico City. It is the first time that the ITF has held its congress in Latin America.

The congress, which decides ITF policy for the next four years and elects its president, vice-president, general secretary and executive committee, began on the morning of August 5, when ITF president, Randall Howard, criticized the government’s anti-trade union attitudes towards the national miners’ union (SNTMMSRM), the electricians’ union and the teachers’ union. He also highlighted the need to promote public transport on environmental grounds, the need to carry out development programmes to reduce poverty and the importance of joint campaigns with other global union federations (GUFs).

The ITF General Secretary, David Cockcroft, stressed the need for greater social justice and the use of the ITF as a global tool to promote workers’ rights.

IMF representatives are attending the meeting along with representatives of other global federations. The IMF’s regional representative for Latin America and the Caribbean, Jorge Almeida, participated in a press conference, along with the ITF president and general secretary, a representative of the United States Teamsters Union and Benito Bahena of the Mexican transport union.

At the press conference, Jorge Almeida greeted those present on behalf of the IMF General Secretary, Jyrki Raina, and thanked the ITF for inviting the IMF to the Congress. He spoke about the situation of the miners’ union and issued an invitation to participate in a symposium on trade union rights on the afternoon of Friday, August 6, when he will discuss the situation of the miners’ and electricians’ unions and highlight the anti-trade union attitudes of the government and Grupo Mexico, especially in relation to the leaders of these unions.

In addition to IMF representatives, the ICEM representative Joe Drexler also attended the meeting.

The IMF reiterated its solidarity with the SNTMMSRM and demanded an end to the persecution of this union including:

• resolution of disputes through negotiations and dialogue, especially the three heroic strikes in Cananea, Sombrerete and Taxco;
• the immediate release of Juan Linares Montúfar, president of the General Vigilance and Justice Council (Consejo General de Vigilancia y Justicia);
• an end to the illegal persecution of Napoleón Gómez Urrutia, General Secretary of the Miners’ Union;
• release of the trade union funds illegally confiscated from union bank accounts on the orders of the government; and
• punishment of those responsible for the crimes against the miners of Pasta de Conchos, Lázaro Cárdenas, Nacozari and Fresnillo.