[Mexico] Lawmakers want inflation-beating minimum wage increase

On December 10 Mexico’s Senate approved a proposal to keep minimum wage increases above inflation. At the same time, President Lopez Obrador pitched another significant hike next year as part of his government’s drive to reverse a decades-long slide in workers’ purchasing power, Reuters reports.

The salary proposal was approved unanimously by senators. It calls for adjustments to federal labour law to prevent minimum wage increases from dipping below inflation. The reform will next pass to the lower house of Congress for consideration.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has vowed to make the poor a priority in a country with huge wealth disparity. He said his government wants to put up the minimum wage by 15 per cent next year. The current minimum wage is 123 pesos ($6.15) per day nationwide, with the exception of a zone along the northern border with the United States paying up to 186 pesos ($9.30) a day.

In 2019 the Lopez Obrador administration increased Mexico’s minimum wage by 20 per cent and it went up by 16 per cent the previous year. Nevertheless, the country ranks last for minimum wage levels among all those in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Highlighting Mexico’s position compared with other nations, at his regular news conference, the president said, “Look, isn’t this a shame.” Globally, Mexico is 82nd for its minimum wage, according to Mexican government figures.

The government’s minimum wage commission has until the end of the year to establish the 2021 minimum salary.

On December 10 Mexico’s Senate approved a proposal to keep minimum wage increases above inflation. At the same time, President Lopez Obrador pitched another significant hike next year as part of his government’s drive to reverse a decades-long slide in workers’ purchasing power, Reuters reports.

The salary proposal was approved unanimously by senators. It calls for adjustments to federal labour law to prevent minimum wage increases from dipping below inflation. The reform will next pass to the lower house of Congress for consideration.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has vowed to make the poor a priority in a country with huge wealth disparity. He said his government wants to put up the minimum wage by 15 per cent next year. The current minimum wage is 123 pesos ($6.15) per day nationwide, with the exception of a zone along the northern border with the United States paying up to 186 pesos ($9.30) a day.

In 2019 the Lopez Obrador administration increased Mexico’s minimum wage by 20 per cent and it went up by 16 per cent the previous year. Nevertheless, the country ranks last for minimum wage levels among all those in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Highlighting Mexico’s position compared with other nations, at his regular news conference, the president said, “Look, isn’t this a shame.” Globally, Mexico is 82nd for its minimum wage, according to Mexican government figures.

The government’s minimum wage commission has until the end of the year to establish the 2021 minimum salary.