Transcript of the interview with Erik Priego Brito about companies and unions

Gabriel Aysa: My dear Mr. Priego Brito. I greet you with the usual appreciation to you and all the staff and all the legal experts, the office that heads with the pleasure of listening to you and that you guide us on this issue of the relationship between companies and unions and the problems that are generated, but also have a solution very good afternoon.

Erik: Hello, very good afternoon. It is a pleasure to greet you and the entire audience, because the subject you are commenting on, as we know, is a problem that has been a problem in the country and in the Mexican Southeast for many years, here in the oil sector it has taken on other nuances, the union issue, because it has been corrupted in a certain way.

Or it has lost presence, not the legal adolescence, for which a union must be constituted that is lost and become figures to try to legitimize or accredit payments or dues to companies that offer their services in the oil industry, electricity and, obviously, construction and other related matters.

Gabriel Aysa: There were reforms to the law precisely in this matter. My dear, my dear Erick, in order to, let us say, counteract this type of conflicts that were constantly occurring in the energy industry between the companies and the union. Well. There are several unions. There are several. The representations are obligated subjects before the transparency institute, etcetera, but then they do not comply with the requirements of the authority or of the different agencies, and for them modifications were also made to the law in order to be able to, well, maintain a little more order.

Erik: And as you rightly point out, changes have been taking place for some years now, starting. With the Mayan labor reform, and also, uh, later a protocol was introduced for the collective contractual legitimization, that is to say, so that the contracts with existing unions would be adapted to the legislation, uh, that was being reformed at that time and for what happened after that date.

Well, according to the already existing legislation, they gave four years to the companies that are obviously running and well, the most recent in November of last year, tobacco started to run as one of the pilot states of the labor reform, one of the 10 states that had been selected and eight of the 10 states that had been selected.

The entire labor reform was initiated. This, well, it is already subject to all these regulations and, rather, it is not only a labor planning, but it is a labor tax planning where we have to observe and take care of even criminal or penal nuances, no. The conduct that can be incurred by means of these activities, uh, uh, enter the criminal or penal sphere, not criminal law. The conduct that can be incurred by means of these activities, uh, uh, enter the criminal or penal sphere, not criminal law.

And also, obviously, they have to do with the, with the relation of the tax issue with the operations, this vulnerable activities that can, uh qualify as vulnerable in many cases, because they can be lent. Issues of laundering, money, resources of origin and mystique, all these types of payments. And also that many, that is, they are not legitimate because they are made by groups or associations that call themselves trade unions, but they are not trade unions.

Now the law has already established a federal center that requires the registration, the registration of the unions. This is already required. They must be registered and there must be, obviously, a certificate that is worth it. And obviously there is a new process for the management of the unions, but it is very important that as a company we are aware of all this because regulatory compliance will allow us to be number one.

Well, a culture of legality where. To deduct all the payments that are made and that are being accounted for in the public treasury, so that this obviously generates improvements for the state and for the development of our country, but that, in addition, uh, we can also avoid, uh, falling into these issues of financing activity.

Where there is no origin or certainty about the origin of the resource and its destination, because we do not know where the money comes from. And that is to say, that money generally can also come from renting such as the purchase of garbage, which is one of the issues also sanctioned now in a vigorous manner, but the destination, that is to say, what those people use it for to finance any other type of activities, there is no uncertainty either, not because there is none precisely.

A legal, fiscal, accounting and financial linkage of this resource. It is very important, Gabriel, that all the companies that have to carry out activities, infrastructures, whether in the countryside or in the city where there is a union, should be able to do the whole process of union hiring or contracting.

To know that we are a contracting with someone who is who he says he is in this case a union two to make a payment, right? This is fiscally and accountingly can be verified because there is no fiscal verification. It can be done from there. And finally, well, to contribute to the changes, right? Because this money does not have, it does not have.

Impact on the nation's coffers, because it is, it is totally evaded because there is no, there is no record of it. Well, it is something interesting, and I think we have to join and promote these changes because finally the union is going to continue charging for its activities as long as they are legitimate and in accordance with its purpose, they will simply have to pay.

Their contributions and the companies will have to do the same, not this paying them too, and I think that's part of the rule of law, right?

Gabriel Aysa: Yes, of course. And also, this issue, for example, in which you guide, well, the whole buffet, the whole office that you head, which refers to payments and contracting, because how many companies do not run into this problem?

Hey, here comes the union, here comes the threat. And well, that is why there are significant changes in the law. We recently had the opportunity to talk with Mr. Alfredo Dominguez Mar Rufo, who today is heading the federal center for labor conciliation and registration, which is the pillar of the new labor justice model.

And he made these clarifications, that is to say, the rules regarding the unions change. Because they had literally taken over the companies. And then with the threats, hey, the salary, the benefits. There were already a lot of doubts about it also around hiring. My dear Eric.

Erik: Yes, to so the gave all, all this the actors, I think, we lived in a state of uncertainty because finally, uh, the lack of intervention of the.

And, and also due to the lack of clarity in the regulations. Imagine nothing of application, because they made us think that such acts were consented, so much so that they have been occurring for decades and the employer had no other choice but to look for third party schemes or contracting through third parties.

For these works, in order not to incur in a malpractice, for example, the companies that are rendered by the world bank and the f, uh, in order not to be punished for those malpractice issues, well, they did not perform them. They hired a third party that this third party was, the malpractice was recited, right? And they had a service contract with this, uh, service provider.

But finally that there was now a solid responsibility. It is very clear, isn't it? Then both the provider and the company that contracts the service will be responsible, as well as the union that is providing the service. And I believe that the union leaders are responding favorably to this reform.

The vast majority of them have gone to enroll and register. Let's say, I am talking about the official and big unions. The small ones are missing. Then, they are even simple owners of a piece of land, a note taking that say they are unions and well, all, all this process is the one that has to be regularized now, but in general, the larger ones have already come to comply with the regulations and the companies are also attending to the message of the.

And they are already looking for the legal schemes to finally comply with that, Gabriel is going to translate into a benefit for the country, no, because in reality there were thousands and thousands and thousands of millions of pesos that did not enter the disk. And also they could be used for anything, eh? Because there was no traceability of that money.

So, right now. Well, this is it. This has many, many purposes. And among them is that, that, that, that control and generated, well, a welfare state. Very

Gabriel Aysa: Well, Erick Priego, thank you very much for taking the call and for disorienting us. And, of course, we are going to endorse the information to the audience so that they can contact your office and those who need more information should know that they already have the first one.

Appointment won and they are constantly at your service in all social networks. Thank you, dear Erick,

Erik: Thank you very much. Very good afternoon and greetings to all the audience and I hope you are very well. Thank you. A

Gabriel Aysa: hug, Erik brito, the office phone number of their offices 99, 31, 31, 2290 and on WhatsApp, contact them at 99, 31, 29 6772.