The strike of more than 4,000 workers at Audi puts the rise in wages in Mexico in the spotlight

Audi workers in the State of Puebla live crucial hours.

A week after the first strike of the year broke out in Mexico, the 4,159 workers of the assembly company have closed ranks to defend this labor right, despite the fact that the company has presented an appeal to the judges to declare the suspension of work non-existent.

The German company argues that the divisional assemblies were not taken into account to start the strike and, therefore, they would be failing to comply with the provisions of the Federal Labor Law.

At the center of the conflict is the salary increase for this year: union members demand 15.5% while Audi only offers 6.5%.

This Wednesday the hearing will be held to find out the future of the strike, however, labor experts warn that the course of the first Audi strike in Mexico, since its arrival in 2016, will set a precedent regarding the upcoming salary negotiations. of the automotive sector in Mexico and will test the salary tables of companies, after the unprecedented consecutive increase of 20% in the minimum wage dictated by the federal government.

César Orta, leader of the Independent Union of Audi Workers (SitAudi), points out that the positions of both the union and the company remain distant despite more than two months of previous negotiations to avoid the strike, the highest point reached. It arrived on January 24, with the placing of red and black flags on the façade of the factory.

“We are willing to have the negotiations that are necessary to have an agreement, but the most important thing is to have a new dialogue table,” he says.

The unionized workers have maintained a guard with 200 people since last week.

However, Orta is confident that this last labor resource, the strike, will build a bridge and, subsequently, a point of agreement on his request document in which the double-digit salary increase stands out, a condition for the Audi workers to lift the strike. suspension of work and production lines are turned on again.

“We have an average of contractual salaries in the automotive industry of 10%, at least by the end of 2023.”

Workers when the strike broke out outside the Audi plant in Puebla, on January 24. Mireya Novo (Cuartoscuro)

For Audi workers in Puebla, the salary increases from other automakers have not gone unnoticed, mainly from its neighbor, Volkswagen, who in August of last year achieved an increase of more than 8% in their salary.

Orta warns that there is also a significant salary gap with other players such as General Motors in Guanajuato, with a 10% increase in their salaries.

The unions in the sector have echoed these demands for salary increases.

The National Independent Union of Automotive Industry Workers and the Federation of Independent Unions of the Automotive, Auto Parts, Aerospace and Tire Industries agreed that the positive figures recorded by the assemblers have not been reflected in improvements for the workers.

The organizations have emphasized that in the last 20 years the automotive industry in Mexico has been one of the most dynamic and globalized.

With 80% of their production for export, the operation of assembly companies in the country has resulted in record production figures and flows of foreign direct investment, benefits, union members warn, which has not translated into improvements in their quality of life.

Mexico is the seventh largest automobile producer globally, with a presence of around twenty automakers and the generation of more than 930,000 jobs.

The labor law expert, Manuel Fuentes, warns that if the judge establishes the strike at Audi Puebla as non-existent, it would be the first ruling of this nature since the 2019 labor reform was enacted. “If the strike is declared non-existent, it would be giving the workers a period of 24 hours to return to work and if they did not return there would be a scenario of breakdown of labor relations, unless the workers presented a protection,” he details.

The specialist points out that there is a business trend for salary increases to be close to the 4.9% percentage at which inflation was located in January, which is why the German shipowner first proposed 5% and then went to 6.5%.

Fuentes points out that although inflation in Mexico has been declining in recent months, the reality for people who earn at least two minimum wages is that they spend 40% of their salary on food and the prices of these inputs have increased. above 4.6%.

“The fate of this conflict may be involving other workplaces and, obviously, it may be affecting the rest of the salary reviews during the year, which is why the employers' sector has come together to condemn this type of strikes,” he says. he.

Fuentes says that salary is the central issue in Mexico.

“The increase in minimum wages has disrupted the issue of tabulators in companies, therefore, average salaries are becoming salaries very close to the minimum wage and this is complicating labor scenarios and this is complicating labor relations,” concludes.

The López Obrador Government increased the basic salary by 20% this year, which means that more than 20 million Mexicans receive a salary of 375 pesos per day on the northern border and 248 pesos per day in the rest of the country.

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