BORDER COMMERCE

U.S. Labor Department Finds Discrimination against Pregnant Women in Maquiladoras

by Michael S. Clifford, Managing Editor

"Post-hire pregnancy discrimination occurs" in Mexican maquiladoras, according to a U.S. Department of Labor study released January 12.

Although the report found the discrimination violates Mexican law and women can obtain redress under the legal system, it also found "a lack of awareness amongst many women workers as to their rights under the law and that they lack confidence the institutions responsible for enforcement," according to an executive summary of the report.

The Department of Labor's National Administrative Office studied the issue in response to a complaint filed by three human rights acts under the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation. Human Rights Watch, the International Labor Rights Fund, and the National Association of Democratic Lawyers of Mexico alleged that maquiladora employers regularly required female job applicants to verify their pregnancy status and did not hire pregnant women.

The report called for consultations between the U.S. Secretary of Labor and the Mexican Secretary of Labor and Social Welfare (STPS), but such consultations were unlikely, representatives of the STPS said.

"Results from frequent inspections demonstrate that compliance in this industry has been satisfactory and comparable to that of other industrial activities in Mexico," according to the STPS.

Sources: U.S. National Administrative Office of the Department of Labor, SourceMex

El Paso and Juárez: A Vital Symbiosis

A translation of an analysis by the Mexican news service, Notimex.

by Ana María Ruiz-Brown, Staff Writer/Translator

El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua give shape to the biggest border community in the world divided only by a line that is sometimes invisible, but at others threatens separation.

The cities, one in the United States and one in México, have developed a vital symbiosis.

The lives and routines of the residents in both cities constantly cross the political border and combine under a unique binational atmosphere that it is often only noticeable by the physical division of the Rio Grande.

El Paso and Ciudad Juárez is a place where economies and cultures mix to create "una zona diferente," a different place, similar to an ecosystem two rivers create when they join the ocean.

The border practically does not exist for some people like Alex Sierra, who lives in an El Paso neighborhood close to the river. Although he lives on the American side, Sierra works for the most part in México, and happily celebrates both national holidays on Cinco de Mayo and Fourth of July.

"It is difficult to evade one culture and try to belong just to one; it is something you just cannot do," Sierra explained.

Like Sierra, thousands of residents in El Paso have their origins in Ciudad Juárez and other parts of México. Many families have members on both sides of the border.

For many Mexican women it is a common practice to have their babies in El Paso so they will qualify as an American citizen and someday can work legally in the United States. Some prominent El Pasoans were born this way, including current mayor of El Paso, Carlos Ramírez. He was raised in Ciudad Juárez but born in the US.

Local television news newscaster Raymond Mesa has a similar background. Last year, Mesa became the only television journalist in the country to give the news in both English and Spanish.

Three international bridges physically connect Ciudad Juárez and El Paso, but other social, cultural and economic factors unite the cities more.

Every day close to 10 thousand Americans face traffic jams when they cross the border to work in the maquilas located in Juárez. In the opposite direction, close to 30 thousand Mexicans cross the border to legally work in El Paso in a variety of positions. The circulation of people in both directions is similar to the arteries in the body carrying vital blood to all the organs.

Americans routinely cross to Ciudad Juárez to buy medicine much cheaper, consult dentists and car mechanics, buy fresh vegetables or just to visit the city and eat in Juárez restaurants. Mexicans also cross to the US side to buy clothes, electronic appliances, and other goods. Business in El Paso depends strongly on the presence of Mexican customers coming from Ciudad Juárez.

In exchange, thousands of workers and merchants in Ciudad Juárez depend on US-owned maquiladoras in Ciudad Juárez for employment and business.

Maquiladoras are a vital part of both sides of the border. Executives quickly learn to talk in the border language, mixing English and Spanish words. Their spouses learn in little time that the tortillas are best in Juárez and some meats and vegetables are fresher and cheaper in Mexico.

New conditions created by the NAFTA agreement have created new opportunities for small businesses to find their niches in the market and grow and succeed on both sides of the border.

Source: Norte de Ciudad Juárez