The Mexican Senate approved a number of amendments to Article 123 of the Constitution, which regulates labor matters. These amendments provide for the following:
i) The creation of Labor Courts of Law, which will replace the existing Conciliation and Arbitration Labor Boards. These new Labor Courts will belong to the local and federal Judicial Branch.
ii) Prior to initiating a judicial procedure before the Labor Courts, the parties will have to follow a conciliation process; to that end, at local level specialized Conciliation Centers with full technical, operational and budgetary autonomy will be incorporated.
iii) At the federal level, similar conciliation centers will be incorporated and responsible for the recording of collective bargaining agreements, as well as for the registry of labor unions.
iv) In case a union claims the execution of a collective bargaining agreement, it will require evidence of the representation of the workers involved.
In order for these constitutional reforms to be effective, it requires the approval of the House of Representatives and the approval of the majority of the local Congresses. If approved, it will be sent to the Executive Branch for its enactment.