Excellon Resources locked out members of the National Union of Mine, Metal, Steel and Allied Workers of the Mexican Republic (Los Mineros) employed at the La Platosa mine in the Mexican State of Durango, resulting in a shutdown of production at the mine and the nearby Miguel Auza mill. Reportedly, 130 members of Section 309 of Los Mineros were blocked from entering by the mine manager. About 300 Mexican Army troops, federal and state police then surrounded the mine and blocked the entrances.
From August 15-18, the workers at La Platosa held a strike to demand recognition of Los Mineros as their bargaining representative. On August 18, Excellon and the union signed an agreement with a representative of the Governor of Durango as a witness that lifted the strike in exchange for the company’s agreement to recognize Los Mineros as the workers’ representative and negotiate a contract. The union blames Federal Labor Secretary Javier Lozano Alarcon for the change in Excellon’s position.
“We had a good faith agreement with the company, but they appear to have caved to pressure from the federal government,” said Los Mineros General Secretary Napoleon Gomez Urrutia. “We just want the soldiers and the non-union people to be withdrawn so our members can go back to work.”
