Mexico’s Federal Constitution was amended in February 2017 to provide the legal foundation to create new specialized Labor Courts to resolve labor and employment disputes, replacing the Mediation and Arbitration Labor Boards that currently operate under the Mexican Executive Branch. Further, this amendment guarantees the rights of workers to bargain collectively, mandating that unions prove that they represent workers, and implements free and confidential voting process to elect union representatives, approve union contracts and to resolve disputes between unions. Additionally, with the Mexican Senate’s ratification of International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 98 and proposed execution of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which remains pending approval by the legislative bodies of Canada, Mexico and the United States, Mexico is now obligated to enact legislation guarantying the right of workers to organize and bargain collectively. Over the past two months, several initiatives to amend the Federal Labor Law were filed in Mexico’s Congress, so a substantial labor reform is expected.
