MEXICO’S pro-company “yellow” trade unions and widely unpopular “protection contracts” received another blow this week after workers at a Panasonic auto parts plant voted to affiliate with the independent union Snitis.

The union won 75 per cent of the votes in a two-day ballot in which 2,150 people were eligible to vote, against Siamarm, part of the discredited Confederation of Mexican Workers.

This follows recent decisions by workers to vote for Snitis at the General Motors plant in the central state of Guanajuato and at auto parts plant Tridonex in Tamaulipas.

These votes came after the companies faced direct US scrutiny for potential worker rights violations under the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement, which came into force in 2020.

The Panasonic factory makes audio and display systems in cars, mostly for US and Canadian markets.

US President Joe Biden’s trade team have forced the issue with companies, with the support of Mexico’s independent unions and the US union body, the AFL-CIO.

Snitis founder Susana Prieto said: “This has been overwhelming, like the result at Tridonex, and we hope it’s the same way at all factories that continue to join this new era of independent unionism.”

Panasonic said in a statement that it respected and supported its employees’ right to free association and looked forward to working with Snitis once it is officially registered as the factory’s new union.

Snitis has also urged the US government to use the USMCA trade deal to investigate abuses of worker rights at the Panasonic plant.

The recent voting wins for independent trade unions come about via a new labour rights system in Mexico where votes are required to end the once widespread practice of unions and companies signing “protection contracts” without consulting workers and agreeing on pay and working conditions without workers’ endorsement.