“There has always been a lot of temptation, because there is a lot of workers’ money waiting for projects. They are very tempted to try to take it,” he said. Francisco Hernandez Juarezsecretary general of Union of Telephone Operators of the Mexican Republic (STRM)who demanded reform of the Institute of National Housing Fund for Workers (Infonavit)by which the government will use housing savings to build houses that will be rented at low prices.
In interview for The Sun of Mexicoalso general secretary and collegiate president of the National Union of Workers (UNT) He added that unionism lost ground in the political sphere and that there are no candidates from the sector in the current electoral process.
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“Unionism has lost ground politically. If we do not unify criteria and forces we are going to continue losing to the extent that At this time there is no union representation for the Chambers of Deputies and Senators“said the union leader who represents 60 thousand telephone workers in 31 states of the country.
About the reform InfonavitHernández Juárez says that will defend from UNT —which has 320 thousand members of different unions throughout the country— the resources of workers at Infonavit.
“It’s workers’ money and They are going to build you a house that will not be your property but rather rented. It’s your money, it should be your property, from the beginning! (…) That’s why, We are going to have a UNT Dialogue Table to discuss this issue and make agreements to defend the resources of the workers at Infonavit,” he said emphatically.
Over the advances in labor matters of the current administration, which is just over five months away from ending, points out that There was progress.
“I think that The President made it clear before coming into office what his purpose was.: eradicate corruption, give priority to the poorfind a way to better distribute wealth. In general I think he has fulfilled his commitments (…) That is why I consider that this transformation process must continue.”
He highlighted the achievements in the increase in minimum wages that doubledin legislation against outsourcing; The Conciliation and Arbitration Boards were eradicated and the Federal Center for Conciliation and Labor Registration was created, and was completed registration and legitimation of collective bargaining contracts (CCT).
Also included pension reform, he changed the way of measuring salaries for pay the pensionwhich was measured by the worker’s last current salary and was changed so that all the salaries they had had in their working life were averaged.
“I continue to believe that The transformation process that the country is experiencing is an opportunity to find solutions to national problems. It is an opportunity, if it is lost, President López Obrador does not lose, Mexico loses,” he commented.
However, acknowledged that there are still pendingsuch as reducing the working day from 48 to 40 hours a week.
“Us We do not agree with freezing the initiative in the Chamber of Deputies“, he pointed. He added that participation in the electoral process will be promoted from the UNT “which will define whether or not the transformation continues.”
He pointed out that works at full speed with other union leaders to promote unionism and establish a common agenda to make their presence felt in the definitions of public policies, since, he reiterated, there are no candidates from the labor sector.
“Still I don’t see any candidates from the labor sector. I understand that Carlos Aceves del Olmo (CTM) can be re-elected in the Senate and Napoleón Gómez Urrutia (Morena) going to the Chamber of Deputiesbut it is still not very clear,” he stated.
On Labour reform and its benefits for the working class, expressed that if Andrés Manuel López Obrador had not become President of the Republic, it would not be running.
“In 2017, President Enrique Peña Nieto approved the Labor Reform as a condition for Mexico to enter the Trans-Pacific Agreementbut Donald Trump became president of the United States and reversed said agreement. Peña Nieto was left with a labor law that he didn’t even want and furthermore, there was no longer a trade agreement, and in the last months of his government he still tried to annul it, repeal it, but They did not count on the arrival of President López Obrador who the first thing he did was ratify the Labor Reform with its Regulations and fortunately the democratization process was launched.modernization and regulation most important in the last 70 years”he recalled.
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About Carlos Slim’s statementsowner of Telefonos de México (Telmex), who said that the most important thing for the population is well-being and not the distribution of wealth as such, The leader of the telephone operators indicated that he did not agree.
“Said from that balcony, it can be easy to see it like that; but It seems to me that no country that claims to be democratic, with better standards of living and development, can do so if it does not have a better distribution of income.. So we have to find a way to better distribute income,” he said.