On 6 March, an agreement on social dialogue was reached by the governor of the Mexican state of Coahuila, the mayors of the 36 largest cities in the state, heads of companies and trade union representatives, as well as the Juntas de Conciliación y Arbitraje (tribunals for resolving work-related conflicts) and universities. The so-called ‘Pact for social dialogue and decent work, for a stable and productive Coahuila’ seeks to encourage domestic and foreign investors to this region that borders the United States. It is an unprecedented agreement, which aims to reassure foreign investors, at a time when the labour landscape in Mexico is undergoing transformation, following the arrival into power of the new government.
The new pact aims to uphold decent employment as well as what is called ‘paz laboral’ (labour peace), between workers and employers, by reinforcing social dialogue mechanisms, with consultations involving workers, companies and local authorities. “This is three-way dialogue typical of Mexico – relations between employers and employees, arbitrated by the state,” according to Cirila Quintero, a sociologist at the Colegio de la Frontera Norte (COLEF), a higher education institution which specialises in social relationships at so-called maquiladoras, customs duty-free manufacturing companies that traditionally export to the US.
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