Union Accuses Puerto Morelos Mayor of Harassing Municipal Workers

Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo — The National Union of Public Servants has accused Mayor Blanca Merari Tziu Muñoz of harassing municipal workers and taking reprisals against employees seeking union representation.

The union filed an amparo petition, a type of federal injunction, against the Puerto Morelos municipal government, naming Tziu Muñoz, a Green Party member, and several municipal departments as defendants. The Fifth District Court of Quintana Roo admitted the case.

The union alleges a pattern of harassment, persecution, isolation and mistreatment that it says violates municipal workers’ right to organize freely. The complaint also describes acts of violence, forced confinement and coercion that the union says workers have suffered since early this year.

In its filing, the union argues that the “severity of the escalation of violence attributed to the responsible authorities transcends labor and administrative matters, stemming from acts of violence, forced confinement and coercion that occurred in the hours before the lawsuit was filed.”

The union also said it is pursuing a separate criminal complaint with the Federal Prosecutor’s Office against the mayor, the municipal administrative officer and other officials over alleged offenses including illegal deprivation of liberty, kidnapping, organized crime, abuse of authority and conspiracy among public servants.

Through the legal action, the union is asking labor authorities to expedite the registration of its members and to put a stop to the alleged violence against municipal workers.