MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – The trade union of Telmex, the Mexican telecommunications firm controlled by the family of tycoon Carlos Slim, went on strike on Thursday for the first time in nearly four decades after failing to reach a deal with the company, the union said.
Telmex’s 60,000 unionized workers were set to walk out, a union representative said, adding that employees had begun hanging red and black flags outside Telmex offices to designate the start of the strike, its first since 1985.
Telmex, a unit of Slim’s America Movil, said in a statement the union launched the strike after no agreement could be reached that was financially viable for the company. Telmex said it would continue negotiating with the union.
The union, known as STRM for the Spanish acronym of its name, the Mexican Telephone Workers Union, reached an agreement last month for some workers to receive 4.5% raises.
The STRM said in a statement that Telmex used “coercive measures” while negotiating other aspects of the contract, leading the union on Tuesday to set a strike deadline for Thursday at noon.
(Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon and Cassandra Garrison; Editing by Dave Graham)
