On May 1st, the Federal Official Gazette (“FOG”) published the Decree which amends, adds and repeals several provisions of the Federal Labor Law, among other laws, regarding labor justice, union freedom and collective bargaining (“Decree”). After being approved by the Chamber of Deputies on April 11, and later by the Senate on April 30, the labor reform (“Reform”) aims to harmonize the corresponding legislation with the following:

• Amendments to articles 107 and 123 of the Mexican Constitution concerning labor justice, published in the FOG on February 24, 2017.

• Principles set forth in the Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention, also known as Co98, of the International Labor Organization, ratified by Mexico on November 23, 2018.

• Commitments resulting from the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), signed on November 30, 2018. The recent labor reform focuses on three fundamental issues:

I. Labor justice

1. Conciliation and Arbitration Boards disappear under the Reform.

2. Labor disputes shall be resolved by the federal and local courts of the Federal and Local Judicial Powers, as well as by the following entities, of new creation:

a) Federal Conciliation and Labor Registry Center (“Federal Center”)

b) Local Conciliation Centers

3. Conciliation Centers will be decentralized public bodies in charge of the conciliation proceedings introduced by the Reform into the labor legislation. Continue reading...