Labor Unions, Strikes, and Workplace Risks: Regulations

Posted on Jan 4, 2025 in Geology

Labor Unions, Federations, and Confederations

Article 356 .- Workers’ unions or employers’ associations are formed for the study, defense, and improvement of their respective interests.

Article 357 .- Workers and employers have the right to form unions without prior authorization.

Article 358 .- No one can be forced to join or not to join a union. Any stipulation that establishes a penalty for joining or not joining a union, or that undermines the previous arrangement, will be considered null and void.

Article 359 .- Unions have the right to draft their statutes and regulations, freely elect their representatives, organize their administration and activities, and formulate their programs of action.

Article 360 .- Workers’ unions can be:

1. Trade unions: formed by workers of the same profession, trade, or specialty.
2. Company unions: formed by workers who provide their services in the same company.
3. Industrial unions: formed by workers who provide their services in two or more companies in the same industry.
4. National industry unions: formed by workers who provide their services in one or more companies in the same industry, installed in two or more federal entities.
5. Unions of different trades: formed by workers of various professions. These unions can only be formed in a municipality when the number of workers in the same profession is less than 20.

ARTICLE 361 .- Employers’ unions can be:

1. Formed by employers of one or more activities.
2. National: formed by employers of one or more activities in different federal entities.

ARTICLE 362 .- Workers over fourteen years of age can form part of unions.

Article 363 .- Workers in positions of trust cannot join unions. The statutes of the unions may determine the conditions and rights of their members, even if they hold a position of trust.

Article 364 .- Unions must be constituted with 20 active workers or 3 employers. To determine the minimum number of workers, those whose work relationship has been terminated or rescinded within 30 days prior to the presentation of the registration application will be taken into consideration.

Article 365 .- Unions must register with the Secretariat of Labor and Social Welfare in cases of federal competence, and with the Conciliation and Arbitration Boards in cases of local competence. They must submit a duplicate of:

1. An authorized copy of the record of the constituent assembly.
2. A list with the names and addresses of the members, and the name and address of the employers or establishments where they provide their services.
3. An authorized copy of the statutes.
4. An authorized copy of the record of the assembly where the directive was elected.

The documents referred to in the previous sections must be authorized by the general secretary and the records of the organization, except as provided in the statutes.

Article 366 .- Registration may only be denied if:

1. The proposed union is not intended for the purposes of Article 356.
2. The number of members is less than that fixed in Article 364.
3. The documents referred to in the previous article are not exhibited.

If the requirements established for the registration of unions are met, the corresponding authorities may not deny it. If the authority does not resolve the registration request within 60 days, the applicants may request a resolution. If no action is taken within 3 days of the request, the registration will be considered granted for all legal purposes, and the authority will be required to issue the respective certificate within 3 days.

Article 367 .- The Secretariat of Labor and Social Welfare, once it has registered a union, will send a copy of the resolution to the Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Board.

Article 368 .- The registration of the union and its directive, given by the Secretariat of Labor and Social Welfare and the local Conciliation and Arbitration Boards, will be effective against all authorities.

Article 369 .- The registration of a union can only be canceled:

1. If it is dissolved.
2. For failing to meet the legal requirements.

The Conciliation and Arbitration Board will resolve the cancellation of its registration.

Article 370 .- Unions are subject to dissolution, cancellation, or suspension of their registration administratively.

Article 371 .- The statutes of the unions must contain:

1. A denomination that distinguishes it from others.
2. Address.
3. Objective.
4. Duration. If this disposition is missing, it will be understood that the union is constituted for an indefinite time.
5. Conditions for admission of members.
6. Obligations and rights of the members.
7. Reasons and procedures for corrections, expulsion, and disciplinary measures. In cases of expulsion, the following rules must be observed:

• The workers’ assembly will meet to consider the expulsion.
• When dealing with unions integrated by sections, the expulsion procedure will be carried out before the assemblies of the sections, and the decision must be submitted to the workers of each section that integrates the union.
• The affected worker will be heard in defense, in accordance with the provisions contained in the statutes.
• The assemblies will consider the evidence presented by the affected party.
• Workers may or may not vote by proxy.
• The expulsion must be approved by two-thirds of the total members of the union.
• Expulsion may only be decreed in cases expressly stated in the statutes, duly proven, and exactly applicable to the case.

Time for convening assemblies for regular sessions and the required quorum. If the directive does not convene the assemblies provided for in the statutes, the workers who represent 30% of the total members of the union or section may request the directive to convene the assemblies. If no action is taken within 10 days, the applicants may make the call. In this case, the assemblies may take resolutions if two-thirds of the total members of the union or section attend. Resolutions must be adopted by 50% plus one of the total members of the union or section. Procedure for the election of the directive and its members. Duration of the directive. Rules for the administration, acquisition, and disposition of the union’s assets. Form and amount of union dues. Time for presentation of accounts. Rules for the liquidation of the union’s assets. Any other rules approved by the assemblies.

Article 372 .- The following cannot serve on the directive of the unions:

1. Workers under sixteen years of age.
2. Foreigners.

ARTICLE 373 .- The directive of the unions must render a complete and detailed account of the administration of the union’s assets to the assemblies every six months. This obligation cannot be dispensed with.

Article 374 .- Legally constituted unions are moral persons and have the capacity to:

1. Acquire movable property.
2. Acquire real estate directly intended for their institution.
3. Defend their rights and actions before all authorities.

Article 375 .- Unions represent their members in the defense of their individual rights, without prejudice to the right of workers to act or intervene directly. In this case, the union’s intervention will cease.

Article 376 .- The representation of the union will be exercised by its general secretary or by the person designated by the directive, unless otherwise specified in the statutes. The members of the directive who are separated from their functions for reasons attributable to them will continue to exercise their functions, except as provided in the statutes.

Article 377 .- The obligations of the unions are:

1. To provide the authorities with the information they request, provided that it refers exclusively to the performance of the unions.
2. To notify the authority where they are registered, within 10 days, of changes in their directive and modifications to their statutes, accompanied by a duplicate copy of the respective authorized records.
3. To inform the same authority every three months of the number of members.

Article 378 .- Unions are prohibited from:

1. Intervening in religious matters.
2. Exercising the profession of merchants for profit.

Article 379 .- Unions will be dissolved:

1. By a vote of two-thirds of their members.
2. By the expiration of the term fixed in the statutes.

Article 380 .- In the event of the dissolution of a union, its assets will be applied in the manner determined by its statutes. In the absence of an express provision, they will go to the federation or confederation to which it belongs, and if none exists, to the Mexican Social Security Institute.

Strikes

Article 440 .- A strike is the temporary suspension of work carried out by a coalition of workers.

Article 441 .- For the purposes of this title, unions are permanent coalitions of workers.

Article 442 .- A strike may include one or more establishments of a company.

Article 443 .- A strike must be limited to the mere suspension of work.

Article 444 .- A legally existing strike is one that pursues the objectives and meets the requirements indicated in Article 450.

Article 445 .- A strike is illicit:

1. When the majority of strikers carry out violent acts against property or persons.
2. If it is a war strike when the workers belong to establishments or services that depend on the government.

Article 446 .- A strike is justified when the reasons for it are attributable to the employer.

Workplace Risks

Article 472 .- The provisions of this title apply to all labor relations, including special work, with the limitation contained in Article 352.

Article 473 .- Workplace risks are accidents and diseases to which workers are exposed in the course of or in connection with their work.

Article 474 .- A work accident is any organic or functional injury or disturbance, immediate or subsequent, or death, caused suddenly in the course of or in connection with work, regardless of the place or time it is performed. Accidents that occur when the worker is directly traveling from home to work or from work to home are also included.

Article 475 .- A work-related disease is any pathological condition that is caused or originated by the work or the environment in which the worker provides their services.

Article 476 .- The diseases contained in the table of Article 513 will be considered as work-related diseases.

Article 477 .- Workplace risks can result in:

1. Temporary disability.
2. Permanent partial disability.
3. Permanent total disability.
4. Death.

Article 478 .- Temporary disability is the loss of faculties or aptitudes that partially or totally prevent a person from performing their work for a certain time.

Article 479 .- Permanent partial disability is the reduction of the faculties or aptitudes of a person to work.

Article 480 .- Permanent total disability is the loss of faculties or aptitudes that make it impossible for a person to perform any work for the rest of their life.

Article 481 .- The existence of previous conditions such as idiosyncrasies, defects, dyscrasias, intoxications, or chronic diseases will not cause a reduction in the degree of disability or the benefits that correspond to the worker.

Article 482 .- The subsequent consequences of workplace risks will be taken into consideration to determine the degree of disability.

Article 483 .- Compensation for workplace risks that produce disabilities will be paid directly to the employee. In cases of mental disability, proven before the board, the compensation will be paid to the person or persons indicated in Article 501, who will be in charge of their care. In cases of the death of the worker, the provisions of Article 115 will be observed.

Article 484 .- To determine the compensation referred to in this title, the daily wage that the worker received at the time the risk occurred will be taken as a basis. Subsequent increases in the wage corresponding to the job performed, up to the degree of disability, will be considered. In the case of death, the wage received at the time of separation from the company will be considered.

Article 485 .- The amount taken as a basis for the payment of compensation may not be less than the minimum wage.

Article 486 .- To determine the compensation referred to in this title, if the worker’s wage exceeds double the minimum wage for the geographical area where the work is performed, that amount will be considered as the maximum salary. If the work is performed in different geographical areas, the maximum salary will be the average of the respective minimum wages.

Article 487 .- Workers who suffer a workplace risk will have the right to:

1. Medical and surgical assistance.
2. Rehabilitation.
3. Hospitalization, when required.
4. Medications and cures.
5. Necessary prostheses and orthopedics.
6. The compensation fixed in this title.

Article 488 .- The employer will be exempt from the obligations determined in the previous article in the following cases:

1. If the accident occurs while the worker is intoxicated.
2. If the accident occurs while the worker is under the influence of a narcotic or drug, unless there is a medical prescription and the worker has informed the employer of this fact and the prescription has been signed by the health surveillance personnel.
3. If the worker intentionally causes the injury, either alone or with the help of another person.
4. If the disability is the result of an attempted quarrel or suicide.

In any case, the employer is obliged to provide first aid and transfer the worker to their home or a medical center.

Article 489 .- The employer is not relieved of responsibility:

1. If the worker explicitly or implicitly assumed the risks of the work.
2. If the accident occurs due to the worker’s negligence or clumsiness.
3. If the accident is caused by the imprudence or negligence of a partner or a third person at work.

Article 490 .- In cases of inexcusable fault of the employer, the compensation may be increased by 25%, in the opinion of the Conciliation and Arbitration Board. There is inexcusable fault of the employer when:

1. They do not comply with the legal and regulatory provisions for the prevention of workplace risks.
2. Accidents have occurred previously and no adequate measures have been taken to avoid repetition.
3. They have not taken the preventive measures recommended by the commissions created by the workers and employers, or by the labor authorities.
4. The workers have notified the employer of a danger they are running and no adequate measures have been taken.
5. Similar circumstances of the same gravity as those mentioned in the previous sections occur.

Article 491 .- If the workplace risk produces a temporary disability, the compensation will consist of the full wage that the worker stopped receiving for as long as the impossibility of work lasts. This payment will be made from the first day of disability. If after three months of disability the worker has not recovered their fitness to work, the employer may request, in view of the respective medical certificates and the opinions that are deemed appropriate, that it be resolved whether the worker should continue with medical treatment and enjoy the compensation or be declared permanently disabled with the right to the corresponding compensation. These examinations of the worker may be repeated every three months. The worker will receive their salary until their permanent disability is declared and the corresponding compensation is determined.

Article 492 .- If the workplace risk produces a permanent partial disability, the compensation will consist of the percentage set in the table of valuation of disabilities, calculated on the amount that should have been paid if the disability was permanent total. The percentage corresponding between the established maximum and minimum will be taken, taking into consideration the age of the worker, the importance of the disability, and the greater or lesser aptitude to perform similar or better-paid activities, similar to their profession or trade. The employer will also take into consideration whether the worker is undergoing professional retraining.

Article 493 .- If the partial disability consists of the absolute loss of the aptitudes or faculties to perform the worker’s profession, the Conciliation and Arbitration Board may increase the amount of the compensation up to that which would correspond to a permanent total disability, taking into consideration the importance of the profession and the possibility of performing a similar category of work that is likely to produce similar income.

Article 494 .- The employer will not be required to pay a higher amount than that corresponding to a permanent total disability, even if there are more than two disabilities.

Article 495 .- If the workplace risk produces a permanent total disability, the amount of compensation will consist of an amount equivalent to 1095 days of wages.

Article 496 .- The compensation that the worker must receive in cases of permanent partial or total disability will be paid in full, without any deduction for the wages received during the period of temporary disability.

Article 497 .- Within the following two years of the date on which the disability was fixed, the worker may request a review of the degree of disability if there is a subsequent aggravation or attenuation.

Article 498 .- The employer is obliged to reinstate the worker who has suffered a workplace risk in their job, provided that they are trained to do so within one year following the date of their disability. The provisions of the previous paragraph are not applicable if the worker has received compensation for permanent total disability.

Article 499 .- If a worker who is a victim of a workplace risk cannot perform their job, the employer is obliged to provide them with another job, in accordance with the collective contract or the provisions of the labor law.

Article 500 .- If a workplace risk results in the death of the worker, the compensation will include:

1. Two months’ salary for funeral expenses.
2. The payment of the amount indicated in Article 502.