On May 21, 2026, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the main judicial body of the United Nations, issued a landmark advisory opinion related to Convention 87 of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the right to strike.
The question submitted to the Court was: “Is the right to strike of workers and their organizations protected under Convention 87, even though the treaty does not expressly mention the word “strike”?“By a majority of 10 votes to 4, the Court answered yes.
The ICJ held that the fact that a treaty does not expressly regulate a subject does not automatically mean that it is excluded from its protection. Under this logic, it concluded that strike action constitutes one of the fundamental activities through which trade unions defend collective labor interests, and therefore forms part of the freedom of association protected by Convention 87.
Although the Court clarified that it did not define the exact scope, limits or modalities of the right to strike, the opinion significantly strengthens the weight of international standards of freedom of association and ILO supervisory bodies.
For employers in Mexico, this decision could influence collective litigation, conventionality analysis, collective bargaining, strike restrictions and union compliance strategies, particularly in the context of labor reform and Mexico’s international commitments under mechanisms such as the T-MEC.
At Vega, Guerrero & Asociados we continue to monitor the impact of national and international standards relevant to labor relations and the operation of companies in Mexico.
