Mexico City: CEP President Dave Coles joins telecom and IT union leaders in Mexico at a rally for Atento call centre workers who are fighting to form a union. Ontario Administrative Vice-President Barb Dolan also attended the rally and is meeting with the Mexican Labour Minister Oct. 21.

UNI’s telecom and IT unions voted today to merge, forming the new sector UNI Information, Communication, Technology and Services (ICTS), which will represent over 3 million workers around the world…

Delegates at the UNI ICTS inaugural conference voted unanimously to form the new sector, which combines the former UNI sectors Telecom and IBITS. The union delegates from around the world vowed to work together to win union rights, organise and improve working conditions at many telecom and tech multinationals, including Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom and IBM. During the conference delegates held a demonstration with Atento Mexico workers and the union Sindicato de Telefonistas de la República Mexicana (STRM) in support of the workers fight to have a free and fair election to join the STRM. UNI ICTS pledged to help the STRM fight protection unions in Mexico, where workers are often forced to join so-called “unions” without their knowledge that do not represent them.

The union delegates also signed a solidarity letter demanding Deutsche Telekom stop US managers from union-busting at T-Mobile USA. Delegates voted unanimously to elect STRM General Secretary Francisco Hernandez Juarez as President of UNI ICTS. Marcus Courtney, head of UNI ICTS, presented the ambitious working plan for the sector, which will help strengthen unions and workers’ rights and confront the challenges of the global economic crisis.

“UNI ICTS is breaking through and ready to change the rules of the game,” he said.