This individual, owner of Grupo México and among the 15 richest men in the world, accused years ago of being the one who caused the most ecological damage in Mexico with its numerous mines, and in Peru with the Southern mine, continues his actions with impunity and is the only one who for 16 consecutive years has stopped the solution of a workers’ strike.
He is the man who refused to rescue 63 corpses from a coal mine that collapsed in Pasta de Conchos in February 2006 and did not take responsibility for compensating family members despite evidence that this occurred due to the appalling safety conditions in that mining deposit.
Also senator Gómez Urrutia explained that, within the framework of the Rapid Response Mechanism of the T-MEC, the United States, as a partner of the trilateral agreement, requested to review the situation of workers of the San Martín mine, located in Sombrerete, Zacatecas, property of Larrea, who has violated his right to strike and free association with impunity.
He commented that a door is finally open to resolve the strike that the workers have been holding for 16 years, although “justice will come from outside, because the governments of Fox, Calderón and Peña Nieto were on the side of the company and although President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has always been characterized by respecting union rights, the Ministry of Labor did little.
The national leader of the mining union highlighted that until yesterday afternoon, after Washington asked Mexico to review the Sombrerete case, the Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Board notified them of an award in which they declared that Grupo México is responsible for the strike and that it is obliged to comply with the payment of lost wages, benefits and to rehire them in case it reopens.
Gómez Urrutia stressed that Larrea must in any case comply with the demands of the San Martín workers, as requested by the United States government.
In fact, “it is a condemnation of Larrea and a request to the Mexican government to resolve the situation of the miners, since in 16 years they have suffered all kinds of outrages, including being evicted by the public force and replaced by scabs who waiting for good weather, they made the mine produce.
“We trust that the Mexican government will respond to this request in a timely manner so that Germán Larrea finally submits to the laws and stops trampling on the rights of workers.”
Meanwhile, the legal representative of the mining union, Nahir Velasco, highlighted that thanks to the support of the United Steelworkers, the complaint was raised before the labor authorities of the TMEC member countries, who admitted it and yesterday resolved through their panel of experts “request accounts” from the powerful owner of Grupo México, who will no longer be able to continue evading justice.
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