Walmart Mexico announces agreement but union threatens strike

On February 27, a l abor union representing workers from Walmart Inc’s Mexico said they would go on strike on March 20 if Walmart Mexico did not secure better pay and conditions for thousands of employees

Today, Walmart de Mexico , Mexico’s biggest retailer, said it reached a deal with a union that had demanded pay hikes , although the group countered that talks were still underway and that a strike remained on the table.

In a statement, the company said it struck the agreement on Wednesday with the Revolutionary Confederation of Laborers and Farmworkers (CROC) , offering its workers an average annual salary increase of 5.5% .

However, CROC spokesman Eduardo Miranda said the parties had not signed an agreement and that the union had not withdrawn its intent to strike if negotiations did not conclude by March 20.

The union previously said it was seeking a 20% salary hike over 2018 wage levels for the 8,000 workers it represents. Mexico raised the daily minimum wage in January by 16% under President Andrés Manuel López Obrador , who has vowed to fight poverty and deep-seated inequality .

Walmart Mexico 

said the CROC union represents only 6,500 workers who had agreed to participate in a potential strike or less than 3% of its unionized workforce in Mexico .

Mexico

now has 15 active federal strikes , three of which started between January and February, according to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (STPS) . Furthermore, at least 384 strike notices have been registered, as well as 37 conflicts between unions belonging to the Workers Confederation of Mexico ( CTM ), the Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants ( CROC ), and the Regional Labor Confederation of Mexico ( CROM ), according to information provided by the Ministry .

There are around 150,000 workers involved in protests at Walmart stores and TELMEX (Mexican Telephones) offices. In parallel, workers from the Metropolitan Autonomous University (UAM) in Mexico City have now been striking for a month.

According to EL UNIVERSAL reporters, there have been 28 work stoppages and eight strikes in 14 states so far this year.

Walmart Mexico could go on strike next week

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