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A statement from the Unión de la Juventud Revolucionaria de México (Union of Revolutionary Youth of Mexico), translated by Red Phoenix staff.

Toluca, State of Mexico:

The State of Mexico constitutes the most competitive node of activity and economic development in the country with the largest industrial parks, making the region the backbone of communication with North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. Capacies Especiales Aplicadas a la Producción (CEAPSA—Special Capabilities Applied to Production), was born as a small company, its objective to become a model for employing workers with visual, motor, and hearing disabilities and the elderly; in a short time it was able to employ the labor of those who are rejected by other companies for their disability or considered too old to work. In 2006, it became an international company, positioning itself in the market by handling “sustainable” packaging made from recyclable and biodegradable materials. At the end of 2009, CEAPSA together with Nestlé opened a sweatshop in Toluca, in the Parque Industrial Exportec II, which has 61 lots, 32 established companies, and is the largest recruiter of cheap labor. CEAPSA employs 120 people, of which 60% have some disability.

The company of “Socially Responsible” rhetoric has been stopped by the workers; their bosses have withheld three weeks of wages, and the workers stopped production and work from Thursday, September 13 to the present, to exert pressure on the bosses, the owners of the company, and its international partners, and to make visible before the eyes of Mexicans that their rhetoric contradicts itself in deeds, that one year into the new Del Mazo (governor of the State of Mexico) government, it is a failure; it has turned its back on the working class and the Mexican people, while the businessmen and the Atlacomulco group continue to benefit by accumulating wealth of the fruit of our hard work.

May the strike continue until their just demands are met! May their example spread to all the workers of the large sweatshop, who live under the same or worse conditions, may the 1360 new workers of the Parque Industrial Exportec II, together with the workers of the entire sweatshop, raise our fists against exploitation, in demand of:

1) A salary increase and complete payment of the salary owed for the past 3 weeks, the contract signed with the company establishes a weekly payment of 1500 pesos, which is not punctual, and the workers always receive less than agreed.

2) Suitable working conditions, operating without equipment prone to work accidents that are not acknowledged by the employer and the owners, such as a lack of timely medical attention.

Popular peasant worker unity!

Unión de la Juventud Revolucionaria de México



Categories: International, Labor, Mexico, Workers Struggle