Ex-Employees: Labor Board Shields Por Esto! From Payouts

PLAYA DEL CARMEN — Former employees of the Quintana Roo newspaper Por Esto! have denounced that, despite having won labor lawsuits more than four years ago, the Conciliation and Arbitration Boards, particularly the one in Playa del Carmen, are allegedly deliberately delaying the execution of court-ordered payments, which they consider a form of institutional protection for the company Publicidad Impresa del Sureste S.A. de C.V.

“I did file for an injunction, but there have already two summonses that they have, that the federal judge is asking them precisely to report why they have not executed the ruling or sentence, and they have not attended. They have already been fined,” said one of the affected individuals through an anonymous complaint.

According to the former workers, following the arrival of Alicia Meléndez Figueroa as general director—and after the death of her father, journalist Mario Renato Meléndez Rodríguez—a stage began that has allegedly been marked by mass layoffs across the Yucatán Peninsula, particularly in Campeche and Quintana Roo, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ex-employees stated they were dismissed in an “inhumane” manner, even while sick with coronavirus, and indicated that they were not paid pending bi-weekly salaries, year-end bonuses, or legally mandated benefits.

“They told us we were out and that if we wanted, we could sue in Conciliation and Arbitration, because they knew how to drag out the processes,” recounted one of the former collaborators.

The lawsuits, filed in 2020 and 2021, have yet to be resolved in the workers' favor regarding the execution of payments, despite the rulings already having been won. The complainants attribute this delay to an alleged collusion between the media outlet and the president of the Special Conciliation and Arbitration Board in Playa del Carmen, Juan Carlos Iza Roja.

They claim that over these years, fines have accumulated against the head of the Board, in addition to excuses such as a “lack of notification to the defendant,” while the workers are notified of any procedure.

“The first fine was for 115 units of measurement and updating, and that was on July 18 when they did not attend, so now they were warned to appear on July 22 before the third district court of the State of Quintana Roo,” recalled a source.

The former workers insisted they will continue their fight until they receive the payments owed to them by law.

“We are not asking for favors, we are asking for justice. The only thing we want is what we earned with years of work. My case is practically settled, it's just that the conciliation and arbitration board does not want to execute the sentence, they do not want to pay. I provided my services to the company for more than 20 and a half years, most of the others have more than 10 years,” said one interviewee.

They also alleged that the delays of several years are not only in the cases against Por Esto! but also involve workers from other companies in the region facing similar situations.

“It is not only my case, there are more than 100 workers. I am already desperate because they don't pay, and the truth is, it's not even a huge amount of money,” one individual concluded.