Call for US probe into alleged labour abuses at Panasonic plant

MEXICO CITY, Apr 18 (Reuters): A Mexican union said on Monday it will ask the US government to investigate a Panasonic plant for alleged worker rights abuses, the latest in a series of disputes seeking to leverage a new trade deal to improve workplace conditions in Mexico.
In a petition to US labor officials, to be filed on Monday and shared with Reuters, Mexican union SNITIS said a Panasonic plant in the border city of Reynosa violated the 2020 United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) by signing a union contract behind workers' backs and firing several dozen employees who protested.
"It's important to keep the US government informed that worker rights are being violated," said Rosario Moreno, head of SNITIS, an independent union that grew out of worker dissatisfaction with traditional labor groups in the northern state of Tamaulipas.
"They were given a contract they didn't even know about," Moreno said of the Panasonic deal with rival union SIAMARM.
Asked about the alleged abuses, Panasonic Corporation of North America said it was committed to complying with Mexico's labor laws and collective bargaining process, and had "the strongest of interest" in ensuring the dispute does not impact employees' freedom to collectively bargain.
It also said the dispute was between SNITIS and SIAMARM and "does not directly involve Panasonic."
Both Panasonic and the Tamaulipas labor board, where the contract that SNITIS says was signed without worker consent was registered, said the deal was legal.
The US Department of Labor did not immediately respond when asked about Panasonic.
The USMCA, which replaced the 1994 NAFTA, ushered in tougher labor rules designed to empower Mexican workers to demand better salaries after years of pay stagnation and help prevent low labor costs from leeching more US jobs.
Under the deal, which was contingent on Mexico upholding a major labor reform aimed at breaking the grip of dominant unions accused of being cozy with employers, workplaces that fail to ensure worker rights can be sanctioned with tariffs and other penalties.
The United States launched the first USMCA probes into labor violations in Mexico last year, demanding better worker protections amid union disputes at automaker General Motors (GM.N) and Tridonex, a US-owned car parts plant.
The Rethink Trade programme at the American Economic Liberties Project, a US non-profit that pushes for corporate accountability, co-signed the petition with SNITIS.
The dispute at Panasonic, whose Reynosa plant employs nearly 1,900 people and makes car audio and display systems, mostly for US and Canada export, grew out of a vote last year in which workers rejected their union contract.