Collective Bargaining

Mexico ratifies the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98)

News | 26 November 2018
On 23 November 2018, Mexico deposited the instrument of ratification of the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98). Mexico, which has now ratified all eight ILO Fundamental Conventions, becomes the 166th Member State of the ILO to ratify Convention 98.

On depositing the instrument of ratification, the Ambassador of Mexico declared that “the ratification of Convention No. 98, that takes place at the eve of the ILO centenary, highlights the strong commitment of the Government of Mexico with multilateralism as well as its endeavour to achieve, jointly with the social partners the labour and economic conditions that lay the foundations for the integral development of the country”. He further emphasized that Convention No. 98 was now applicable to each and every country of Latin America and the Caribbean.

On receiving the instrument of ratification, the Director-General of the ILO, Mr Guy Ryder, welcomed this ratification, as a testimony to Mexico’s long-standing commitment to promoting and effectively implementing fundamental rights at work and as an additional step towards its full achievement of a sustainable industrial relations model. He particularly highlighted the importance of collective bargaining in facilitating adaptation to economic, socio-political, trade and technological changes and the growing relevance of its role in the fast-paced changing environment of the world of work.

This ratification further underlines the particular importance of Convention No. 98 for the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, affirming the function of collective bargaining in combating income inequality and promoting the other fundamental principles and rights at work, ensuring social justice in conditions of dignity.

Convention No. 98 requires Member States to ensure that workers enjoy adequate protection against acts of anti-union discrimination and to ensure protection of workers’ organizations and of employers’ organizations against any acts of interference by the other. These represent the necessary conditions to ensure full and meaningful collective bargaining which the Convention calls on Governments to promote.