LONDON - Electronics workers in Mexico are often subjected to labor rights abuses, says the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD), siting a report by partner organization The Centre for Reflection and Action on Labor Issues (CEREAL), which works to improve labor conditions in Mexico.

The latest report updates the CAFOD’s 2004 "Clean Up Your Computer" campaign, in which Dell and IBM signed codes of conduct pledging to improve worker conditions for those in their supply chain. Following the campaign, Hewlett Packard, Dell and IBM met with local organizations to get first hand reports from electronics workers.

In interviews conducted with almost 2,000 workers, 236 cases of alleged abuse were documented. The report claims that workers are routinely exposed to toxic materials and that safety rules are ignored, allowing accidents to happen.  Workers are also banned from joining trade unions, and that other unions are company controlled.

CEREAL sites disturbing cases, such as a woman whose hands were severed in a company accident, and workers standing for entire twelve-hour shifts while requests for chairs were denied. The report also includes a six-month pregnant woman being forced to stand for a seven-hour shift.

Electronics equipment is Mexico's main export, with the industry employing 400,000 workers, earning an average of 100 pesos (or $ 9.25) a day. In 2006, the industry was worth $46 billion, with Mexico the tenth largest electronics equipment exporter in the world.

Jorge Barajas of the organization CEREAL, said: "This is the second report on the electronics industry in Mexico and we are witnessing only small changes. We still need to see systematic improvements in workers' conditions. The only positive change is that some companies are choosing to respond promptly, but other companies ignore all complaints."

The report states that contract workers make up 60% of the work force, and often don't get vacation or maternity leave, and are sometimes pressured to sign undated resignation letters, allowing employment agencies to avoid following regulations before firing workers.

"Repeated use of temporary contracts means many workers are extremely vulnerable, and can't build up rights to holiday time or sick leave. Workers are still unable to form their own unions to negotiate improvements for themselves. Thanks to CEREAL's work the industry is well aware of abuses, so the fact that they are still occurring on a regular basis is hugely disappointing." said Barajas.

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