A recent isolated court precedent published by Mexico’s Federal Judiciary shifts the traditional approach many companies have used to grant union leave. According to the new standard, even minority unions may request leave for their representatives regardless of their membership size, as long as such leave is necessary for their effective operation. This may significantly affect internal labor relations in workplaces with multiple unions.
What did the Court decide?
The Second Collegiate Labor Court of the First Circuit held that union leave must not be determined solely on a proportional basis to the number of members. Instead, employers must assess the actual operational needs of the union, provided this does not significantly hinder the company’s functioning.
The Court relied on:
- ILO Convention 135 on workers’ representatives.
- The principle of effective union representation.
- The idea that majority union privileges have reasonable limits.
- The employer’s duty under the Federal Labor Law to facilitate union activities without disrupting operations.
What does this mean for employers?
This new standard may require companies to revise how they handle union requests:
- Mathematical proportionality is no longer sufficient to deny union leave to minority unions.
- Employers must evaluate each request based on objective operational needs.
- Se vuelve más relevante documentar las funciones, roles y necesidades reales del sindicato que pide licencias.
- It is essential to document the purpose and scope of requested leave to justify any approval or denial.
- Blanket rejections based solely on union size increase the risk of adverse rulings in labor disputes.
Initial recommendations:
- Review internal guidelines on granting union leave across all unions in the workplace.
- Train HR and Labor Relations teams to apply this new judicial standard.
- Ensure that any denial of leave is supported by a case-by-case operational impact assessment.
At Vega, Guerrero & Asociados, we assist employers in updating internal policies and analyzing union leave requests to ensure compliance with labor laws and international standards—while protecting business continuity and operations.
