United States and Mexico Announce Course of Remediation at Akwel Juárez México Facility

WASHINGTON - The United States and Mexico today announced a course of remediation at the Akwel Juárez México, S.A. de C.V. (Akwel or the company) facility located in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, which manufactures auto parts. This announcement marks the ninth time the United States and Mexico have agreed on a formal course of remediation in a case under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement's (USMCA) Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM).

The course of remediation details a plan to remedy violations of Mexican law at the facility and includes measures aimed at ensuring freedom of association and collective bargaining rights are protected at the facility moving forward.

Under the course of remediation, the Government of Mexico will ensure that Akwel takes various remedial actions, including to:

• Reinstate nine workers with full backpay and benefits or pay full severance to the workers, based on their respective preferences;
• Restructure human resources and labor relations management, and take appropriate disciplinary action against staff who violated workers' freedom of association and collective bargaining rights;
• Implement and train all company personnel on its neutrality statement and guidelines related to freedom of association and collective bargaining, including a zero-tolerance policy for violations, and commit to retraining annually;
• Inform workers about the denial of rights at the facility by conducting meetings and posting notices at the facility to acknowledge Akwel's unlawful and interfering practices and affirm the company's commitment to respect workers' rights in the future;
• Install and publicize a complaint mechanism through which workers can report violations of their rights and breaches of company policies anonymously and confidentially; and
• Maintain on the company website and in any internal communications platform the neutrality statement and guidelines, collective bargaining agreement, training materials, and information about complaint mechanisms maintained by the company and the Government of Mexico, such that the information is easily accessible to workers.

Under the course of remediation, the Government of Mexico will, among other actions:

• Monitor the facility with regard to the obligations of the course of remediation and compliance with Mexican laws related to freedom of association and collective bargaining;
• Conduct in-person training that is structured to ensure all workers understand their right to freedom of association and collective bargaining and how to exercise it, including by informing workers of the denial of rights at the facility and educating workers on the conciliation process available to any dismissed worker;
• Conduct separate workers' rights training for supervisors, human resources and labor relations personnel, and other high-level and "trusted" officials; and
• Maintain a direct email address, reporting platform, and telephone line for workers to anonymously report any potential acts of unlawful interference or other violations of freedom of association and collective bargaining rights, and timely investigate any allegations.

The United States and Mexico agreed to establish a deadline of January 31, 2026 to complete the course of remediation.

Background

The United States Trade Representative and the Secretary of Labor co-chair the Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement (ILC). On October 24, 2024, the ILC received an RRM petition from the Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores y Empleados Especializados, Conexos y Similares de la República Mexicana (SINATAM), along with ten workers as signatories. The petition alleged Akwel had violated workers' right to collective bargaining and freedom of association by refusing to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement with the petitioner union, dismissing workers based on their union affiliation, and threatening and harassing workers to disincentivize their union activity. The ILC reviews RRM petitions that it receives, and the accompanying information, within 30 days. The ILC determined that there was sufficient, credible evidence of a denial of rights enabling the good faith invocation of enforcement mechanisms.

As a result, on November 22, 2024, the United States submitted a request that Mexico review the matter. Mexico agreed to conduct a review and, on January 6, 2025, concluded a denial of the rights had occurred at the facility. Subsequently, the United States and Mexico agreed on a course of remediation.

Read the full course of remediation here.

Read an unofficial courtesy Spanish translation of the full course of remediation here.

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