Background

Facts about farmworkers in agribusiness camps in Northern Mexico:

There are estimated to be over one million migrant farmworkers in Mexico. The majority come from Southern Mexican states like Oaxaca and Guerrero. They are forced to leave their communities because they have no other way to support their families.

Workers are recruited by contractors in their communities of origin and often transported under very dangerous conditions.

Many of these workers are indigenous and speak languages such as Mixteco, Nàhuatl, Zapoteco, and Tlapaneco.

There are hundreds of trans-national agribusiness camps in Northern Mexico, in states like Sinaloa, Sonora and Baja California. They grow a large variety of produce from tomatoes to watermelon. The vast majority of the crops harvested are for export to the U.S. and Canada.

During the 2007-2008 harvest season, more than 790,000 tons of fruits and vegetables were exported from Sinaloa - the vast majority of these crops came to the U.S. The main crop is tomatoes, followed by bell peppers and cucumbers.

For six to eight months, migrant families live in small, crowded shacks made of sheet metal and wood, often with no access to clean water or other basic services.

Most migrant farmworkers are surviving under precarious working conditions, receiving very low wages and no labor protections.

Child labor is widespread in the camps. About 20% of the labor force are children under 14 years of age. About 374,000 children between the ages of 6 and 14 work in fields harvested for export.

Pay by piece-rate dominates, which forces workers to work as much as 12 hours per day.

Health problems that these workers face include malnutrition and chronic-degenerative illnesses because of their constant exposure to dangerous pesticides.

There are many documented cases of children and adults losing limbs and lives to work-related accidents and illnesses in the fields.

This internal migration has not improved the marginalization and extreme poverty in which these families live. They often return home with barely enough money saved to get them through till they return again to the camps six months later.

Mexican Labor Law

The Federal Labor Law of Mexico sets forth the rules and regulations regarding labor relations, labor unions, and labor courts (Board of Conciliation and Arbitration).

There is ample protection provided labor in Mexico. Employers are not permitted to dismiss employees without just cause. If they do so, the employee has a right to file suit for reinstatement or indemnification.

The Work Week. The federal Labor Law of Mexico sets forth a maximum of 48 hours per week as the amount of hours a laborer can work without going overtime. Even so, most companies only run the work week at 40 to 45 hours.

The Work Day. For every 6 days of work (Monday through Saturday), employees are entitled to one day of rest with full pay. Therefore, when hiring in Mexico please keep in mind that you are hiring per week and not per day, when deciding on the salary.

Work Shifts. There are 3 work shifts, consisting of the day shift (eight hours), the night shift (seven hours) and the mixed shift (7 1/2 hours). The mixed shift is part day shift and part night shift. Those hours that are worked over these periods are considered to be overtime (paid as such - double the hourly rate) and cannot go over 9 hours per week.

Overtime. In that case the hourly wage can be double or even triple the normal hourly wage, depending on how many hours overtime are worked. In the event that the overtime is on a holiday, the hours are paid at triple the normal hourly wage.

Salary. The law sets forth a minimum daily wage for each category of services to be provided in a given geographical area. The law also sets the requirement for an annual review of the salary being paid, which salary increase should not be less the minimum set by law.

Employee vs. Independent contractor. The rights and obligations between the two types of work relationship is very different and if the work relation states independent but the relationship is employee, the Labor Court will view it as employee.

Work related risks suffered. The employer should register and maintain his employees with the Mexican Institute of Social Security (medical care). If he does not, then he will be liable for the medical care and will also still owe Social Security.

Holidays. The official holidays in Mexico are: January 1 (New Year’s Day), February 5 (Constitutional Day), March 21 (Juarez’s Birthday), May 1 (Labor Day), September 16 (Independence Day), November 20 (Revolution Day), December 25 (Christmas Day).

Vacation Time. Employees have the right to a yearly vacation, which is not to be less than 6 working days. For every year the employee continues to work for the employer, he/she will receive an additional 2 working days. After four years, the employees vacation period will increase only 2 working days for every additional five years he/she works for the employer. As well, the employee will have a right to not less than a 25% vacation premium calculation on his/her salary for the vacation period.

Dismissal or Willing Departure. In the event of being fired from one’s employment without just cause, the employer will pay the employee three months salary (calculated on the last salary paid prior to firing, plus 20 days for each full year of employment with the employer that fired him/her).

If the employee resigns, then the employer will pay the employee the proportionate part of his/her vacation premium and year end bonus. If the employee has worked there for more than 15 years without interruption (working with someone else and then returning), then the employee shall receive an additional sum equivalent to 12 days salary (calculated on the last salary received prior to resigning) for each year he/she will have worked for the employer.

Labor Contracts. There are two types of employment contracts. One is collective (the same for several people), then the clauses are determined between the employer and the labor union. The other is an individual contract, where the individual negotiates his/her own employment contract.

Retirement. The employer is to periodically deposit in a banking account, for the employee, a sum equivalent to 2% of his/her salary, as a savings account for the employees’ retirement (SAR). At this writing, the deposits are to be made in an “AFORE” account that individually identified by each employee. There is also to be a periodical payment to INFONAVIT (federal housing authority for workers) of a sum equivalent to 3% of his/her salary.

Labor Unions. Labor unions are recognized under the Federal labor Law as a means of the employees uniting to protect their common employment rights. There are large labor unions existing in Mexico. As a result of the labor unions, collective labor contracts are signed between the employer’s representative and the representative of the labor union.

http://www.mexicolaw.com/LawInfo11.htm
http://www.nafta-mexico.org/sphp_pages/canada/invierte/doing_business/labor_law.htm