Former Matamoros Garment factory worker Jaime Ayala Sanchez said employees at the now-closed facility worked without ventilation and emergency exists, had no access to drinking water or first aid supplies and were forced to work overtime to meet high production quotas.
"The guard would close the doors and nobody could get out," she told a labor hearing in Toronto, Ont.
The garment workers' claims were backed by Canadian and United States supporters, who told officials at the Canadian National Administrative Office that a NAFTA-linked agreement aimed at protecting workers had failed to deliver.
"It makes many lofty promises, but the enforcement mechanism lacks teeth," Canadian lawyer Mark Rowlinson, who represented the United Steelworkers, said of the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation complaint process.
Mexican workers said they hoped their complaints would lead Canada to order an investigation and ultimately force Mexico to enforce its own labor laws.
CHALLENGING UNFAIR TRADE
