Mexico: new labor law reform increases flexible working and amends unions’ functioning

Secret ballot and monitoring finances – new union standards.  On Tuesday, November 13, the Mexican Senate adopted the final version of the labor law reform, which has been in discussion for four years.  These amendments to the Federal Labor Act, which hasn’t been changed since 1970, should be ratified by the government within a few days.  The MPs approved the bill in October (see our dispatch No.  120584) but it has been slightly amended since: unions’ obligations in terms of internal democracy and transparency were added back to the final text.  The new law introduces a new internal election procedure via direct secret ballot.  Besides, unions will have to carry out annual financial audits with outside accountants.  This chapter of the reform, which aims to make unions more transparent, was removed from the bill approved by the Lower House following pressure by the Institutional Revolutionary Party, which still controls the country’s key union federations.  The party’s MPs considered that the measure would hinder unions’ functioning but the Senators decided to approve the reform.