812.5045/691: Telegram
The Ambassador in Mexico (Daniels) to the Secretary of State
[Received March 17—12:15 a.m.]
52. According to this afternoon’s newspapers the President of the Federal Board of Conciliation and Arbitration made the following statement at noon today:
“In view of the request of the Syndicate of Petroleum Workers of March 15, 1938, asking that the petroleum companies be declared to be in ‘rebeldia’ if they do not carry out the decision of group 7 of the Federal Board of Conciliation and Arbitration and since such companies have refused such compliance I hold the ‘rebeldia’ of the companies to be manifest.”
The British Minister in the company of Licenciado Beteta saw the President today. After a discussion of the whole situation the President authorized Licenciado Beteta to act as his representative in endeavoring to bring the representatives of the oil companies and of the syndicates together to try to reach an adjustment.
The President suggested that as a basis of adjustment the companies withdraw the statement they made yesterday that they were unable to comply with the award and substitute for it a statement that they will comply with the increase of the 26,300,000 peso maximum provided the administrative clauses can be modified to meet their needs.
Aguila74 representatives then went into conference with representatives of the American companies in an effort to persuade the latter to agree to a renewal of the discussions with the labor syndicates.
The representatives of the American companies have just called upon me. You may recall that when the American oil executives came to see [Page 725] me last week I suggested that they strain a point and if possible offer to pay the 26,300,000 pesos on condition that the administrative clauses be adjusted. I told them at that time that I did not believe the President would accept anything less. They then declared it would be impossible to pay that increase and they would not act on my suggestion. In today’s meeting they said that after conferences with the Aguila they had decided to present a statement along the following lines:
“With reference to the ‘escrito’ presented to the Labor Board on the 15th instant the undersigned companies desire to make clear the fact that they are prepared to agree to increase their total labor costs up to the sum of 26,300,000 pesos which was mentioned in the decision of the Labor Board of December 18 by increasing the tabulador [schedule of pay] of the attached contract by a percentage now being calculated based precisely on the claims of workmen by names which were submitted by the companies in the Oferta Patronal [offer of the employers].
The companies are unable to accept the administrative and other clauses laid down in the laudo but are prepared to sign a contract as per copy enclosed in which the aforementioned increase is embodied.”
The representatives of the Aguila and the Counselor of the British Legation have now gone to see Licenciado Beteta to discuss this draft with him and to see whether a further meeting between the companies’ representatives and the syndicate leaders can be arranged for the purpose of discussing this proposal.
The representatives of the American companies told me today that on March 11, 1938, in a confidential direct meeting with the executive committee of the syndicates a representative of the companies had offered payment of the 26,300,000 provided the administrative clauses of the award could be adjusted and that this offer had been rejected by the executive committee of the syndicates without discussion.
- Compañía Mexicana de Petróleo “El Aguila,” S. A., subsidiary of the Royal Dutch Shell.↩