Mexico: Education, labour rights, and trade unionism are key to building the future
“Labour rights, trade unionism, and education are key to building the future of society”, stressed David Edwards, General Secretary of Education International (EI), during his recent visit to Mexico.
Edwards held meetings with senators, with the Secretary of Public Education, Mario Delgado Carrillo, and the National Executive Committee of the SNTE education union, a member organisation of Education International. Discussions focused on labour rights, trade unionism, and education.
“Mexico is recognized for its fight for social security for workers, and the SNTE is one of the main drivers,” Edwards said during his visit to Mexico in April. He also met with the General Secretary of the SNTE, Alfonso Cepeda Salas, and other union leaders.
“Mexico is recognized for its fight for social security for workers, and the SNTE is one of the main drivers.”
Edwards underlined that more than half of the world’s workers have no social security coverage, an issue to which governments have devoted little attention. In Mexico however, the issue has been addressed seriously, thanks in no small part to the work of teacher, union leader, and senator Alfonso Cepeda Salas. Drawing on the strength and unity of the SNTE, Cepeda Salas has raised this issue in a range of international forums.
“Alfonso Cepeda Salas has been highlighting this issue for 10 years within EI, so I am not surprised to come here and hear about pensions in Mexico (...). The truth is that the SNTE, you here in Mexico, have a responsibility to show all other countries that another future is possible”, Edwards stated.
The SNTE General Secretary, who is also a member of the EI Executive Board, reiterated that workers have a right to well-being and social justice through better pay, better working and retirement conditions, and quality health services.
He emphasised that these are demands for which he will continue to fight.
At the various meetings with David Edwards, participants discussed the impact of the US administration’s policies on key issues such as democracy, freedom of association, the right to public education, solidarity and inclusion, and the perspectives of the international trade union movement.
Education International is a global union federation representing more than 33 million teachers and education support personnel through its 375 member organisations in 180 countries, with a strong presence in North America, the Caribbean, and Latin America.
