The American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) supports the Government of Canada's efforts to promote labor rights in Mexico by implementing the Strengthening Legal Representation of Workers and Trade Unions in Mexico project. Through this program, ABA ROLI will sustain the enhancement of the protection of workers' rights by labor justice institutions in accordance with the new Mexican labor law. With capacity-building assistance and the collaboration of multiple stakeholders, the project aims to help labor justice institutions in terms of legal advice and representation to reinforce their impact in defending workers' labor rights in Mexico. The program achieves this by providing capacity-building assistance to the Federal Attorney General's Office for the Defense of Labor (PROFEDET, per its acronym in Spanish), the Federal Institute of the Public Defender (IFDP), and the Offices of the State Attorney General for the Defense of Labor of eight states (Coahuila, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Mexico City, Mexico State, Nuevo León, Querétaro, and Tamaulipas). The program will directly aid labor prosecutors, federal public defenders, trade union representatives, and lawyers in ensuring workers' rights.
Strengthening Federal and State Offices for the Legal Defense of Workers to Enhance Resolution of Labor Disputes in Mexico
Preparing Officials of Labor Justice Institutions for Challenges and Scenarios Under the New Labor Law
To strengthen labor justice institutions and ensure proper legal representation of workers in alignment with Mexico's new labor law, ABA ROLI offers training in legal counseling in labor conciliation techniques. Additionally, the organization arranges inter-institutional mock exercises to provide practical experience and application of these acquired skills. The program contracts experts who design practical exercises for simulated cases and measure the readiness of participants to apply the skills practiced during the mock exercises to their work.
Strengthening the Collective Bargaining Skills of Labor Justice Institutions Officials and Trade Union Lawyers
ABA ROLI collaborates with labor justice officials to enhance their understanding of freedom of association and collective bargaining, specifically focusing on the utilization of new and updated collective bargaining provisions. This aims to support and guide democratic trade unions. Additionally, ABA ROLI assists in the training and skill development of labor officials to effectively conduct workshops on collective labor law.
Increasing Mutual Understanding and Collaboration between Justice Institutions and Trade Unions
ABA ROLI facilitates a dialogue among trade unions and labor justice institutions to increase mutual understanding of needs and services between them for applying the new and updated collective bargaining tools. Labor justice institutions and trade unions hold state-level meetings on collective labor rights. We expect and encourage labor justice institutions at the state level to agree on implementing coordinating efforts to secure a better implementation of the labor law reform.