Auto unions want labour reforms in Mexico

TORONTO • The leaders of the largest autoworkers unions in Canada and the United States say they will not support a renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement that does not address the significantly lower wages and subpar standards of living for Mexican workers.

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and Canada’s lead NAFTA negotiator Steve Verheul met with Unifor president Jerry Dias and U.S. counterpart Dennis Williams, president of the United Auto Workers, in Toronto Friday to discuss the first round of trade talks last week.

Dias and Williams said they are on the same page when it comes to renegotiations, and that both unions want a new NAFTA deal to address low Mexican wages, something Dias called “the elephant in the room.”

“Where there’s commonality between our two unions is that we recognize that the problem isn’t us,” Dias said after the meeting.

“The problem becomes the migration of jobs to Mexico, and the fact that Mexican workers aren’t benefiting as a result of getting those jobs. We need to fix that.”

According to a Centre for International Governance Innovation report this month, Canada’s share of North American auto production under NAFTA has fallen to less than 13 per cent since the 1980s. Meanwhile in Mexico, where wages are a fraction of the rates paid in plants in both Canada and the U.S., auto production has almost tripled to 20 per cent and is expected to continue to increase. The report also points to the opening of eight new assembly plants in Mexico in the past decade, while both Canada and the United States have had plants close in recent years.

While they did not specify what mechanisms could be in a new NAFTA, both Dias and Williams stressed talks must address standards for Mexican workers as well as stricter labour rules.

“Corporations ought to be held accountable as well,” Williams said. “They are the ones that exploit workers in Mexico. All they are doing is making huge profits off of it, while at the same time hurting Canada and hurting the United States.”

Freeland, who was not available for comments following the discussions, said ahead of the meeting that Canada wants the talks to touch on labour provisions, the environment and gender.

Dias said the Canadian government understands the importance of raising labour standards as a key issue, as well as the issue of right-towork states in the U.S.

“NAFTA in its current form is a disaster,” Dias said, pointing to GM’s CAMI plant in Ingersoll, Ont., which announced in January it was laying off 600 people and moving production of the GMC Terrain to Mexico.

“We’re not going to support a trade deal that doesn’t include (labour standards),” he said. “This whole trade deal can’t be signed with respect or understanding or the support of our unions unless we deal with it.”

The next round of NAFTA talks is to take place in Mexico City from Sept. 1 to 5.