In the latest bulletin from the Mexican Association of Professional Footballers, after the suspension of promotion and relegation in the Liga MX, it is stated that "there is nothing more than the imminent negotiation of a collective agreement", an instrument that would provide little protection to its members and, because they are an AC, they also do not have the possibility of negotiating a collective labor contract that supports professional players.
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April 25, 2020
"An Association, being an AC, does not have the legitimacy established by the Federal Labor Law to request the signing of a collective contract," says Ricardo de Buen, a specialist lawyer in sports law.
The "collective agreement" is a figure that does not require the employer to negotiate and does not give the workers, in this case footballers, the right to strike. In the case of the collective contract, the players would even have the possibility of attending the Assemblies held by the Liga MX or the Mexican Football Federation, because it obliges negotiation with the employer (club owners and executives) and in case their demands are not heard, they could immediately call a strike.
"According to Mexican law, in order to sign a collective labor contract that is protected by labor legislation, that can be forcibly reviewed every year, that in case it is not wanted to sign it, a strike must be called, and everything that happens with collective labor contracts, there must necessarily be a union," explains the specialist lawyer in sports law.
The formation of a union is a right of the workers (footballers) and is "considered a legal weapon" to ensure that agreements are respected.
"There was once a footballers' union in Mexico, it exists, but it is not used. It was a complicated process, five years long, in which it had to reach the Supreme Court of Justice, but it won and was recognized as a national union. Times can change, all that is needed to have a union is to have 20 active workers and carry out a union registration request procedure before the labor authority," adds Ricardo de Buen.