Two miners have been killed in a clash with a paramilitary group during a protest near Real de Limón in Guerro State, Mexico. The two men were taking part in a protest in which miners at the El Limón-Guajes Gold Mine on Saturday 18 November 2017, when they were attacked by members of the Policía Comunitaria de Tonalapa, or Tonalapa Community Police (not an official police organisation). The attackers were reportedly detained briefly by members of the Mexican Army, but were released without charge. Workers at the mine have been on strike since 3 November 2017, demanding improved pay and working conditions, and the right to join a worker-led union, and have been blocking access to the mine site as part of the protest.
The El Limón-Guajes Gold Mine in Guerro State, Mexico. Mining Journal.
The El Limón-Guajes Mine is operated by Canadian mining company Torex Gold. The company had agreed that workers at the site were entitled to join a union following an earlier dispute, but instead enrolled them in the Confederación de Trabajadores de México, an employer-led worker's federation, which provides only limited support for ordinary members, rather than the worker-led National Union of Mine, Metal, Steel and Related Workers of the Mexican Republic, which is allied to the American United Steelworkers, and which the miners wanted to join. The dispute has prompted the Canadian Branch of United Steelworkers to petition Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to intervene, citing his stated desire to improve worker's rights across the North Amercan Free Trade Agreement nations.
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