A total of 400 workers from the Siderurgica del Golfo mining company have begun a strike to demand for a 20% salary increase and the payment of a MXN$32,000 annual bonus. Miners were seen protesting yesterday outside the company headquarters in the Industrial Park of the border city of Matamoros .
Javier Zúñiga, the general secretary
of the workers’ union , informed that the miners were receiving a salary of around MXN$48,000 since they are entitled to a MXN$16,000 bonus .
He added that, in spite the fact that this guild has some of the highest wages in the city, they are looking to increase their income.
“Most of the workers have decided to start striking and as a union, we will stand by them. This company has always offered us the best wages. Since workers in other industries have started demanding better working conditions, now they are our equals.”
The mining activity is physically demanding and risky
, which is why miners have decided to organize and start a strike, claimed the secretary.
A salary increase
Numerous workers from the Mexican beverage manufacturing and distribution company Arca Continental , Coca-Cola ’s second largest bottler in Latin America, have begun washing cars and selling tamales after the company closed their plant in Matamoros.
Around 30 men and women who are now unemployed gathered last weekend outside the Coca-Cola facilities to offer car washing services for MXN$30 , since they are no longer able to provide for their families.
Last Sunday , the people of Matamoros gathered around the facility to wash their cars and offer their support to the workers, who announced that they would remain outside the building until the company decided to reopen the factory.
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