World’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart, faced ire of protesters in Mexico City who picketed its store to show support for employees who are trying to form a union at the company, the nation’s largest employer.
The protesters, who included labour activists and union members from other industries, urged shoppers to boycott Wal- Mart for the day. Wal-Mart de Mexico SAB, two-thirds owned by Bentonville, Arkansas-based retail giant, has about 160,000 workers in the country.
“Wal-Mart in Mexico is no different from Wal-Mart in the U.S.,” said Maria Pantoja, a Mexico City representative of Global Exchange, a San Francisco-based group that is helping local workers organise. She said the company pays low wages and drives small shops out of business with its low prices.
In the U.S., Wal-Mart faces more than 70 suits in which it is accused of wage-law violations. Politicians including presidential candidate Barack Obama, as well as religious, environmental and labour groups have criticized the company over its wages, benefits and expansion plans.
Wal-Mart de Mexico issued two written statements in response to the demonstration, including a nine-point fact sheet with salary information, number of jobs created, number of female employees and investment in training. It said its lowest salary is at least 18 percent higher than the minimum wage.
Protesters gathered at the Plaza Universidad Supercenter, Sam’s Club and other Wal-Mart stores with political messages that included criticism of President Felipe Calderon’s free-trade policies.
Wal-Mart de Mexico’s salaries, benefits and work conditions are similar to those of other retail chains in Mexico, which take advantage of labour laws that favour employers, said Alfonso Bouzas, who has researched labour laws for 33 years for Mexico’s National Autonomous University.
