Trade Unions Fight Walmart in Mexico Emilio Godoy - Inter Press Service
go to original April 29, 2013

MEXICO CITY - Trade unions in Canada, the United States and Mexico are preparing protests and legal action against the Mexican subsidiary of Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, which is accused of paying bribes and breaching labour rights.

Unions in the three North American countries want the company to be penalised by the Mexican authorities, and are calling for a ban on opening more stores on artistic or natural heritage sites.

“What is needed is action in Mexico. We are somewhat out of step with the investigations in the United States,” said Héctor de la Cueva, the coordinator of the Centro de Investigación Laboral y Asesoría Sindical (CILAS), a Mexican trade union research centre. “That’s why we’re going to explore avenues to initiate legal action against the company and then evaluate using international courts,” he told IPS.

The Walmart scandal erupted on Apr. 21, 2012 when the New York Times reported that the firm had paid 24 million dollars in bribes to Mexican officials between 2002 and 2005 to expedite the opening of new stores, a possible violation of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

In the United States, Walmart has been under investigation since December 2011 by the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission in a process that has already cost the company millions of dollars and will cost it considerably more yet.

Walmart is now Mexico’s largest private employer, with over 240,000 workers, who are not allowed to form trade unions or demand labour rights on pain of dismissal. Nearly 20 percent of the over 10,000 Walmart stores worldwide are located in Mexico.

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