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The United Steelworkers union (USW) has filed a complaint against Orla Mining (TSX, NYSE: ORLA) over alleged violations of workers’ rights at the Camino Rojo gold and silver mine in Zacatecas, Mexico.
In its statement, the USW alleges that the Vancouver-based miner pressured its workers, through intimidation and violent threats, to join a pro-employer “protection” union instead of the union known as Los Mineros.
According to the USW, the Mexican government formally recognized Los Mineros as the legal bargaining agent for workers at the Camino Rojo mine.
Despite this, workers at Camino Rojo have been intimidated with violence, threats of dismissal and eventually death threats due to their membership in Los Mineros, it stated, adding that in the most recent escalation, armed gunmen broke into the home of Jaime Pulido Leon, a local union leader at the mine.
“Mexico has seen a history of corrupt corporations using violence, intimidation and even murder to quell workers’ resistance,” Marty Warren, United Steelworkers Canadian director, said in a statement.
“It would be unacceptable for a Canadian mining company to be associated with these tactics. Workers must be able to organize and join unions without fear,” Warren said.
To file the complaint, the USW used the Rapid Response Labour Mechanism under the Canada United States Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), calling for an investigation into “continuous and systematic denial of the workers’ rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining.”
The complaint is only the second of its kind made from Canada using CUSMA’s RRM process since the trade deal came into force in 2020.
The Camino Rojo open-pit mine entered commercial operations in April of 2022. Last year, it produced 121,877 oz. of gold, exceeding Orla’s expectations.
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