Protests At Wal-Mex

Wal-Mart Protesters Picket Mexico City Store to Demand Union [Bloomberg]

Protesters picketed a Wal-Mart store in Mexico City to show support for employees who are trying to form a union at the company, the nation’s largest employer.

The protesters, who included labor activists and union members from other industries, urged shoppers to boycott Wal- Mart for the day. Wal-Mart de Mexico SAB, two-thirds owned by Bentonville, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc., has about 160,000 workers in the country.

``Wal-Mart in Mexico is no different from Wal-Mart in the U.S.,’’ said Maria Pantoja, a Mexico City representative of Global Exchange, a San Francisco-based group that is helping local workers organize. She said the company pays low wages and drives small shops out of business with its low prices.

“They’re missing the point,” said Antonio Ocaranza, communications director for Wal-Mart de Mexico, as he looked at the protesters handing out pamphlets at Plaza Universidad, in southern Mexico City. “We create jobs, we pay taxes, we compensate our workers better than average.”

In the U.S., Wal-Mart faces more than 70 suits in which it is accused of wage-law violations. Politicians including presidential candidate Barack Obama, as well as religious, environmental and labor groups have criticized the company over its wages, benefits and expansion plans.

Wal-Mart de Mexico issued two written statements in response to today’s demonstration, including a nine-point fact sheet with salary information, number of jobs created, number of female employees and investment in training. It said its lowest salary is at least 18 percent higher than the minimum wage.

Criticism of Calderon

Protesters gathered at the Plaza Universidad Supercenter, Sam’s Club and other Wal-Mart stores today with political messages that included criticism of President Felipe Calderon’s free-trade policies.

Ernesto Palestino, 52, wheeled his cart out of the Supercenter along with his wife and son as protesters gathered around the store exit.

“They have good jobs and pay benefits,” he said. “I have nothing against the store.” He reserved his criticism for the government, saying it “sells our oil and lets foreign companies send all their profits overseas.”

Wal-Mart de Mexico’s salaries, benefits and work conditions are similar to those of other retail chains in Mexico, which take advantage of labor laws that favor employers, said Alfonso Bouzas, who has researched labor laws for 33 years for Mexico’s National Autonomous University.

Posted by Vasudha Desikan on Sunday, December 02, 2007

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