TITLE SIX. Labor and Social Security
Article 123
Every person has the right to have a decent and socially useful job. Therefore, job creation and social organization of work shall be encouraged according to the law.
The Congress of the Union, without contravening the following basic principles, shall formulate labor laws, which shall apply as following:
- Workers, day laborers, domestic servants, artisans and, in a general way, to all labor contracts:
- The maximum duration of the working day shall be eight hours.
- The maximum duration of night work shall be seven hours. The following jobs are prohibited for persons under sixteen years: unhealthful or dangerous work, industrial night work and any work after ten o’clock at night.
- The use of labor of minors under fifteen years of age is prohibited. Children older than fifteen years old and less than sixteen shall have a maximum working day of six hours.
- For every six days of work a worker must have at least one day of rest.
- During pregnancy, women shall not perform such work that requires excessive physical effort and could be dangerous regarding pregnancy. Women have the right to enjoy a disability leave due to childbirth, which shall cover six weeks previous to the birth and six weeks thereafter. During such disability leave, women shall receive their full wages and retain their employment and the rights acquired under their labor contract. During the nursing period, they shall have two special rest periods per day, consisting of half hour each one, to feed their babies.
- The minimum wage shall be established in a general way or according to the occupation. General minimum wage shall govern over the different economic zones. Professional wages shall apply on specific industries, professions, trades or special works.The general minimum wage must be sufficient to satisfy the normal material, social, and cultural needs of a family, and to provide the compulsory education of children. The professional minimum wage shall be fixed by taking into account the conditions of the different industrial and commercial activities.
A national commission composed by representatives of the workers, employers, and the Government shall fix minimum wages. This national commission may be assisted by special advisory committees if it considers them necessary for a better performance of its duties.
- Equal wages shall be paid for equal work, regardless of sex or nationality.
- The minimum wage shall be exempt from attachment, compensation, or deduction.
- Workers are entitled to participate in profit sharing, which shall be regulated in conformity with the following rules:
- A national commission, composed of representatives of workers, employers, and the Government, shall fix the percentage of profits to be distributed among workers.
- The national commission shall research and study the general conditions of the national economy. It shall also take into consideration the need to promote the industrial development of the country, the reasonable interest that should be obtained by capital, and the necessary reinvestment of capital.
- The national commission may revise the percentage fixed under paragraph “a” of this section, whenever new studies and research so justify.
- The law may exempt newly established corporations from the obligation of sharing profits for a specified and limited number of years, as well as the exploration works and other activities so justified by their nature or peculiar conditions.
- In order to determine the amount of the profits of each corporation, it will consider the taxable income, according to the provisions of the Income Tax Law, as basis for calculation the amount of profits. Workers may submit to the appropriate office of the Department of the Treasury their objections, in accordance with the procedure indicated in the law.
- The workers’ right to participate in profit sharing does not imply the power to intervene in the management or administration of the company.
- Wage must necessarily be paid in legal tender and cannot be paid in goods, coupons, tokens or any other instrument intended to substitute the money.
- When, due to extraordinary circumstances, working hours must be extended, the salary to be paid for overtime shall be 100% more than the amount fixed for regular hours. Overtime work may never exceed three hours a day nor three times consecutively. Persons under sixteen years of age may not perform overtime.
- In all farming, industrial, or mining corporations, or any other kind of business, employers are obliged to provide to workers comfortable and hygienic housing. This obligation shall be discharged through contributions made by the companies to a national housing fund, which shall provide the workers with inexpensive loans, sufficient to acquire a house.The law shall create a body composed of representatives of the Federal Government, of the workers and of the employers to manage the resources of the national housing fund. The law shall establish the procedures to be followed by the workers in order to get a loan to acquire a house.
The companies located outside the villages are obliged to establish schools, medical services and other services necessary in the community.
In addition, in these work centers, when the population of the community exceeds 200 inhabitants, a tract of land of not less than five thousand square meters must be set aside to used them as public markets, municipal services and recreation centers.
Establishments selling intoxicating liquors and casinos are prohibited in all work centers.
- The companies are obliged to provide their workers with training for the job. The statutory law shall establish the systems, methods and procedures through which employers will meet this requirement.
- Employers shall be responsible for labor accidents and for occupational diseases of workers. Therefore, in accordance to the law, employers shall pay the appropriate compensation, depending on the consequences of the accident or disease such as death, temporary or permanent incapacity to work. This liability shall remain even when the employer contracts the work through an intermediary.
- The employer shall observe the legal regulations on hygiene and health that are applicable to his establishment, and to adopt adequate measures for the prevention of accidents in the use of machines, instruments and materials. The employer must organize the work in such a way to protect the health and safety of workers and of unborn children, in the case of pregnant women. The law shall define the penalties applicable to offenders.
- Both employers and workers shall have the right to join together for the defense of their respective interests, by forming unions, professional associations, etc.
- The laws shall recognize strikes and lockouts as rights of workers and employers.
- Strikes shall be legal when their purpose is to attain equilibrium between the several factors of production, harmonizing labor rights and the purposes of capital. In the case of public services, the workers must notify, at least ten days in advance, the Commission for Conciliation and Arbitration about the date agreed for the suspension of work. Strikes shall be considered as illegal only when the majority of strikers carry out violent acts against persons or property, or in the event of war, when the workers belong to governmental establishments or services.
- Lockouts shall be legal only when an excess of production makes it necessary in order to maintain prices at a reasonable level, with prior approval of the Commission for Conciliation and Arbitration.
- Differences or disputes between employers and workers shall be subject to the decisions of the Commission for Conciliation and Arbitration, which shall consist of an equal number of workers and employers, and one government representative.
- If an employer refuses to submit the conflict to the Commission for Conciliation and Arbitration or to accept the decision thereof, the work contract shall be terminated and the employer shall give to the worker a compensation equal to three months salary, plus the liabilities originated by the conflict. This provision shall not be applicable in the case of actions covered in the following section. If the workers refuse to submit the conflict to the Commission for Conciliation and Arbitration, the work contract shall be terminated.
- If an employer fires a worker without justified cause or because he has joined an association or union, or for having taken part in a lawful strike, then the employer is obliged to fulfill the work contract or to compensate the worker with a quantity equal to three months salary, whatever the worker chooses. The law shall specify those cases in which the employer may be exempted from the obligation of paying compensation. The employer is also obliged to pay a three months salary compensation to the worker if the worker leaves his employment due to the employer’s lack of honesty or because the employer mistreats the worker or worker’s wife, parents, children or siblings. The employer cannot be exempted from this liability when the mistreatment is inflicted by his subordinates or members of his family acting with his consent or tolerance.
- Credits in favor of workers for wages earned within the last year, and for compensations, shall have priority over all other obligations in the event of receivership or bankruptcy.
- Only the worker shall be responsible for debts acquired by himself and payable to his employer or to his employer’s associates, relatives or dependents. In no case the payment can be exacted from the members of the worker’s family, nor are these debts demandable for an amount exceeding one-month salary.
- Employment services shall be free for workers, whether the service is performed by a municipal office, an employment agency or any other public or private institution.When providing employment services, labor demand must be taken into account. In equal conditions, the persons who are the only income source for their family shall have preference.
- Every work contract made between a Mexican and a foreign employer must be authenticated by the responsible municipal authority and countersigned by the consul of the country to which the worker intends to go. Such work contract shall include a clause clearly specifying that the employer will bear the costs of repatriation.
- The following conditions or clauses shall be considered null and void and not binding on the contracting parties, even if expressed in the contract:
- Those that fix an inhuman working day.
- Those that fix wages that are not remunerative, according to the criteria of the Commission for Conciliation and Arbitration.
- Those providing a period longer than one week for the payment of a daily wage.
- Those indicating as the place of payment of wages a recreation center, cheap restaurant, coffee shop, tavern, bar, or store, except for the employees of such establishments;
- Those indicating the direct or indirect obligation of acquiring basic products in specific stores or places.
- Those that allow the retention of wages as a fine.
- Those that constitute a waiver by the worker of indemnification to which he is entitled due to labor accidents, occupational diseases, damages caused by breach of contract or dismissal.
- Any other provision that imply waiver of any right granted to workers by the laws.
- The laws shall determine what property constitutes the family patrimony. Such property shall be inalienable, not subject to taxes or attachment, and shall be transferrable as inheritance, simplifying the formalities thereof.
- Social Security Act is enacted for social welfare. This act shall include disability benefit, retirement pension, life insurance, involuntary unemployment benefit, health services, nursery services, and other services intended to guarantee wellbeing of workers, farm workers and other kind of employees, as well as the wellbeing of their families.
- Cooperatives established for the construction of inexpensive and hygienic houses to be purchased on installments by workers, shall be considered of social utility.
- Enforcement of the labor laws belongs to the authorities of the states, within their respective jurisdictions. However, it is the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal authorities in matters relating to:
- Industrial sector and services:
- Textile industry
- Electricity
- Movie industry
- Rubber
- Sugar
- Mining
- Metallurgical, iron and steel industries, including the exploitation of basic minerals, their processing and steelworks, production of iron and steel in all their forms and alloys, and their rolled products.
- Hydrocarbons
- Petro-chemistry
- Cement
- Limekilns,
- Automobile industry, including car parts.
- Chemical industry, including pharmaceutical and drug industry.
- Cellulose and paper
- Oils and vegetable fat
- Food production, applicable only to industries producing packed, canned or bottled products.
- Bottled and canned drinks, and related industries.
- Railroad workers
- Basic lumber industry, including sawmills and manufacture of plywood and agglutinate materials.
- Manufacture of glass bottles and flat glass, either smooth or carved.
- Tobacco industry, including manufacture of tobacco products.
- Bank and credit institutions.
- Corporations:
- Those corporations that are administered directly or in a decentralized form by the Federal Government.
- Those corporations that have a contract or license granted by the Federal Government, and connected industries.
- Those corporations working in federal zones or under federal jurisdiction, in territorial waters or inside the exclusive economic zone of the nation.
The following topics shall be the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal authorities: a) labor disputes that affect two or more states; b) collective work contracts that have been declared obligatory in more than one state; c) employer’s obligations related to educational matters, according to the respective law; d) employer’s liabilities regarding training for workers, and safety and hygiene at work centers. State authorities shall assist federal authorities in matters under local jurisdiction, in accord with the applicable statutory law.
- Industrial sector and services:
- The Powers of the Union, the Federal District Government and their employees:
- The maximum duration of the working day shall be eight hours. The maximum duration of night work shall be seven hours. Those in excess will be considered overtime, the salary to be paid for overtime shall be 100% more than the amount fixed for regular hours. Overtime work may never exceed three hours a day nor three times consecutively.
- For every six days of work, the employee must have at least one day of rest, with full payment of wage.
- Workers shall be entitled to vacations of not less than twenty days a year.
- Wages shall be fixed in the respective budgets, and their amount may not be decreased while a given budget is in effect, observing the provisions stated by the Article 127 of this Constitution.In no case, the wages of the public servants may be lower than the minimum wage established for the Federal District and the states.
- Equal wages shall be paid for equal work, regardless the gender.
- Withholdings, discounts, deductions or attachments from wages may be made only in those cases provided by law.
- There shall be a system to appointment personnel according to their knowledge and skills. The State shall organize schools on public administration.
- There shall be a scale in order to grant promotions in accordance with knowledge, skills and seniority. Under the same conditions, the individual representing the only source of income for his family shall have preference.
- Workers may be suspended or fired only due to justified cause and according to the law.In the event of unjustifiable dismissal, employees have the right to choose between reinstatement and the appropriate indemnity through the appropriate legal proceedings. In case of positions axing, the affected workers shall have the right to get another position equivalent to the position that has been eliminated or to get compensation.
- Public employees shall have the right to join together in order to protect their common interests. They may also exercise their right to strike, observing the requirements prescribed by law, whenever the rights established by this article are generally and systematically violated.
- Social security shall be organized according to the following minimum basis:
- Social security shall cover work accidents, occupational diseases and other diseases, motherhood, retirement, disability, elderlies, and death.
- In case of accident or illness, the right to work shall be retained for the time specified by law.
- During pregnancy, women shall not perform such work that requires excessive physical effort and could be dangerous regarding pregnancy. Women have the right to enjoy a disability leave due to childbirth, which shall cover one month previous to the birth and two months thereafter. During such disability leave, women shall receive their full wages and retain their employment and the rights acquired under their labor contract. During the nursing period, they shall have two special rests per day, consisting of half hour each one, to feed their babies. In addition, they shall enjoy medical and obstetrical services, medicines, nursing aid and nursery services.
- Worker’s family has the right to medical care and medicines, in those cases and in the proportions specified by law.
- The Social Security System shall create centers for vacations and convalescence, as well as cheap grocery stores for workers and their families.
- The Social Security System shall provide to workers inexpensive housing for rent or sale, in accordance with previously approved programs. Additionally, the State shall create a national housing fund and shall make contributions to it. Such fund shall provide the workers with inexpensive loans, sufficient to acquire a comfortable and hygienic house, or to build, renovate or improve their home or to pay loans used to buy a house.Contributions made to the national housing fund shall be notified to the Social Security Institute. The law of such Institute, as well as the other applicable laws, shall regulate the administration of the national housing fund and shall establish procedures to grant loans to workers.
- Individual, collective and inter-union conflicts shall be submitted to a Federal Court for Conciliation and Arbitration, which shall be organized as provided in the statutory law.Disputes between the federal judicial branch and its employees shall be settled by the Federal Judicial Council. Disputes arising between the Supreme Court of Justice and its employees shall be resolved by the Supreme Court of Justice.
- Military and naval personnel, Foreign Service personnel, public prosecutors, legal experts and members of the public security corps, shall be governed by their own laws.Public prosecutors, legal experts and members of the police forces belonging to the Federation, the Federal District, the states and the municipal councils, can be dismissed if they do not meet the requirements established by law or due to liabilities as a result of their functions. If the jurisdictional authority determines that dismissal or any other form of termination is not justified, the State shall be obliged only to pay to the employee the compensation and other benefits established by law, but this shall not mean to bring the employee back to service, regardless the ruling pronounced in the trial.
The federal, state and municipal authorities, as well as the Federal District Government, shall implement complementary social security systems to strengthen social security for the employees of the Public Prosecution System, of the police forces and of the legal services, as well as for their families.
The State shall provide active members of the Army, Air Force and Navy with the benefits mentioned in the paragraph “f” of section XI of this part, through the body created for this purpose in such institutions.
- The Central Bank and all the organs belonging to the Mexican banking system shall follow the provisions established in this part regarding labor relations between them and their employees.
- The law shall determine what positions are to be considered as trusted positions. Persons who hold such positions shall be entitled to the social security and protection of wages.
