May 1, 2023 marked a milestone in the relationship between unions and their members in Mexico: the implementation of labor reform aimed, among other objectives, at increasing transparency and accountability in the management of union resources.
The labor reform clearly stipulates that union leadership is required to be accountable to the assembly every six months, providing a complete and detailed description of the management of union assets. This includes information about income generated from union dues and other assets, as well as their use and destination. The assembly must record minutes of this accountability, and these minutes must be submitted to the Federal Center for Conciliation and Labor Registry within a ten-day period for deposition and registration in the Union Registry File.
The intention behind this measure is clear: to ensure that union members have access to accurate and up-to-date information about how the resources they contribute through dues and affiliations are managed. Financial transparency not only strengthens trust between members and union leadership but also prevents potential misappropriation and abuses of power.
However, current results show that the implementation of this obligation is far from universal. The Federal Center for Conciliation and Labor Registry recently reported that only 4.15% of the 6,000 active unions in Mexico comply with the requirement to disclose their resources, meaning only 250 unions adhere to this provision.
This reflects that union leadership is not willing to reveal detailed financial information due to potential irregularities in the administration of resources, in addition to the lack of awareness and understanding about the new requirements among union members, and consequently the lack of demand on leadership.
This underscores the need to implement stronger oversight mechanisms and effective sanctions in case of non-compliance. The reform must be supported by coercive measures that incentivize unions to meet their obligations.
This lack of transparency can lead to increased distrust towards unions, which in the long run can complicate the negotiation processes of the Collective Agreement and biennial reviews. It is important to remember that these must be subjected to a vote by all unionized employees for agreements between the Company and the Union to be approved. Therefore, such non-compliance not only affects the labor sector but all involved production factors.
