Mexico

Martha Garcia Santoyo (Mexico)

Member of International Council

Martha García Santoyo was born in 1960. She is the representative of FNOTNA, SNI’s affiliate in Mexico. She was the founder and is the current Secretary-Geral of the Asociación de Comerciantes en Pequeño de Matamoros Tamaulipas and has held leadership positions in many local associations in her region. Her work has been recognized in Mexico, especially by women’s organization. In 2014, she received a medal of “Mujer de Lucha, mujer con Valor” awarded by the Republicano Ayuntamiento of the city of Matamoros Tamaulipas.

Highlights of the 8th WIEGO General Assembly 2022 (Mexico)

The 8th WIEGO General Assembly in Mexico City was a unique moment for informal economy workers to come together to discuss, exchange experiences and boost our unity! The General Assembly was attended by over 140 delegates (two thirds of which were women) from 39 countries, showcasing the diversity and strength of WIEGO as a whole.

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SNI Regional Meeting in Brazil (Brasil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, United States, Uruguay, USA, Venezuela)

On May 23, 24 and 25, 2022, the StreetNet International Americas Regional Meeting took place in São Paulo, Brazil.

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FNOTNA (Federación Nacional de Organizaciones de Trabajadores No Asalariados) (Mexico)

Formed in 1982

Membership: National alliance of organisations of non-salaried or own-account workers. 70% of members are informal, market and mobile traders. Informal sector workers form part of the agricultural and forestry sectors, in mining, manufacturing (crafts, etc), as well as the construction sector. However, where this sector has the most impact is on services provided, micro trading, street vending, transport of goods and passengers by taxis, various types of repairs, domestic workers; amongst many others, in these type of activities, capital is non-existent or very limited and quick income is obtained, although this income can hardly be considered a product of entrepreneurial activity. There are 7000 members.

Objective: Organise non-salaried or own account workers.

Activities: The actions of FNOTNA have been directed to providing social security, housing, life insurance and funeral insurance, as well as ways of accessing credit, to non-salaried workers.

These services are paid by the non-salaried workers affiliated to FNOTNA, by means of agreements which reduce the cost of obtaining these services, however there is a long way to go with regard to protective mechanisms with costs that can be afforded by the
workers themselves, such as: sickness subsidies; accident compensation; annual vacations and maternity leave – these are practically non-existent for workers in the informal sector.

Within FNOTNA it is recognised that the opportunities for generating union strategies for this sector are still limited, although there is a great need to protect the labour and social rights of workers in the informal sector.

Confederación Revolucionaria de Obreros y Campesinos (CROC) (Mexico)

The CROC has transformed the traditional unionism that was only concerned with seeking and maintaining the worker-employer balance within the companies, to a Social Unionism of the XXI Century, whose main foundation is to extend services and address the problems of the worker and his family , based on the thesis “any matter that belongs to the worker, is also related to the Organization and, therefore, programs have been carried out, actions taken and results provided”. For this reason, several programs of great impact have been implemented in the place where they live and coexist socially.

STREETNET Americas affiliates contribute to important book (Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Venezuela)

By Lauro Morillo

Eleven organisations affiliated to StreetNet Americas, have written on their experiences in a book published by Trade Union Confederation of Americas (TUCA), International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the Bureau for Workers´ Activities (ACTRAV-ILO).

TUCA, ITUC and ACTRAV-ILO published the book Experiencias Sindicales de Formalización Mediante Organización Sindical y Diálogo Social en América Latina y el Caribe in 2015. It is a collection of the experiences of organisations in the region, as well as information materials produced by the Working Group for Union Self-reform (GTAS), CSA, Sindical Obrera (USO), and StreetNet International.

It is important to note that 11 of the 14 affiliates of StreetNet Americas, have provided valuable insights and records of their experiences in this publication. They are SINTRACOPEA (Costa Rica) through its affiliate CTMC/FENATSEA, FESTIVES (El Salvador), FENTRAVIG (Guatemala), FOTSSIEH (Honduras), FNOTNA (México), CTCP/FNT (Nicaragua), UGT-I/CUT (Colombia), FEDEVAL (Peru), FUTRAND (Venezuela), SIVARA (Argentina) and CUT/SINTRALOC (Chile).

Given its importance, this collection was presented by the TUCA in the 103rd and 104th ILO Conference (Geneva, June 2014 and June 2015), during the negotiation process around Recommendation 204 (adopted in June 2015) which addressed the Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy.

Click here to download the book – Experiencias Sindicales de Formalización Mediante Organización Sindical y Diálogo Social en América Latina y el Caribe (PDF Format)