29-07-2009 Electronic Industry Workers Coalition (EIWC): worker demands in Mexico denied by supplier of HP, Dell, Philips and Lenovo

Excerpt from the GoodElectronics website:

Since early June, workers are protesting labour conditions at Flextronics in Guadalajara, Mexico. On 29 June 2009, a group of workers staged a demonstration outside the factory of Flextronics in Guadalajara, Jalisco. The workers prevented the access to the factory compound of at least seven buses transporting workers. In July a series of other actions and demonstrations has take place. The demonstrating workers are trying to raise attention for a number of pressing labour issues.

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Mexican employees are entitled to share in their company's profits. The Mexican Federal Labour Law provides for annual profit sharing at a rate fixed by the National Committee for Workers' Profit-Sharing in Enterprises (Articles 117-131). The rate of profit sharing is determined every 10 years by a national commission. The rate is currently 10 percent of the employer's taxable income. The company’s annual tax declaration is key in this respect.  Workers have the right to object to the annual declaration as presented by the company. The Electronic Industry Workers Coalition (EIWC) denounced Flextronics’ unwillingness to live up to the law. Flextronics, however, claims that no profits were made in the fiscal year 2008. Two years ago, on 6 June 2007, Flextronics announced the take-over of Solectron. Flextronics paid $ 3,6 billion for Solectron. It now claims that the debts made to purchase Solectron prevented any profit making in fiscal year 2008.

On 1 June 2009, the Electronic Industry Workers Coalition (EIWC) organised a press conference and released a bulletin “También somos parte de las utilidades y las generamos” (or “We are also part of the profits and we produce them”). At the press conference, the EIWC denounced the fact that several electronics companies are not respecting the due process for profit sharing as  laid down by the Mexican labour law. The manufacturers concerned include Flextronics, Foxconn, Sanmina SCI, Jabil, USI. They produce for brands like IBM, HP, Dell, Motorola, Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Phillips, LG and Lenovo.

Please note that the article refers to Philips as a client of the manufacturers concerned. In personal communications, Philips indicated that they do not source from the sites mentioned in this article. However the criticism of the EIWC, as described in this article, refers to the general refusal of profit sharing of a supplier of Philips. Therefore Philips is considered to be one of the companies involved for this news item.