Reform to the Federal Labor Law and the Social Security Law regarding labor rights of farmworkers

By Santamarina Steta

Executive Summary:

On January 24th, 2024, the decree that reforms, adds, and eliminates various provisions of the Federal Labor Law and the Social Security Law, regarding farmworkers’ labor rights, was published.
With the changes, which will come into force on January 25th 2024, the different modalities by means of which farmworkers can be hired are recognized and various obligations were imposed on employers.
To guarantee compliance with obligations by employers, Labor Inspectors are given the power and duty to carry out inspection visits at least once a year and in season or season of production.

On January 24th, 2024, the decree that reforms, adds, and eliminates various provisions of the Federal Labor Law and the Social Security Law, regarding farmworkers’ labor rights, was published in the Official Gazette of the Federation.

This reform establishes measures to guarantee the farmworkers’ rights.

With the changes, which will come into force on January 25th 2024, the different modalities by means of which farmworkers can be hired are recognized: permanent or temporary -for a specific work, a specific time or season-, establishing that everyone will have the right to social security; in addition, it is established that temporary workers who work continuously for more than twenty-seven weeks shall be presumed to be permanent.

Regardless of the modality, the parties must formalize the hiring process through a written contract, detailing the working conditions and the mechanisms to inform farmworkers about the labor authorities to whom they can turn when they consider that their rights have been undermined. The salary will be set by the National Minimum Wage Commission, without this preventing the parties from agreeing upon a remuneration higher than the minimum wage.

In that regard, the employer must keep a special registry of temporary farmworkers to record the total period of contracted time, which will be used to calculate the proportional part of vacation, vacation premium, Christmas bonus, and any other accrued benefit that they are entitled to at the end of the operation, certain time, or season.

Additionally, various obligations were imposed on employers, including the following:

Proveer habitación a las personas trabajadoras que cumplan con los requerimientos mínimos de construcción, seguridad e higiene. En todos los casos, las habitaciones deberán contar con piso firme, agua potable, baños, regaderas, lavaderos y comedores.
Proporcionar alimentación sana, suficiente y variada; agua apta para consumo y uso humano, en cantidad suficiente, y servicios sanitarios adecuados.
Trasladar a las personas trabajadoras del campo a los servicios médicos del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social. En aquellos lugares donde el Instituto no cuente con instalaciones, deberá proporcionar gratuitamente asistencia médica.
Brindar servicios de guardería a los hijos e hijas de las personas trabajadoras del campo, durante todo el tiempo que dure la jornada laboral, independientemente del esquema de contratación.
Garantizar a las personas trabajadoras del campo el acceso equitativo a los esquemas de formación o certificación de competencias laborales que implemente.
Respetar los descansos pre y postnatales de las trabajadoras embarazadas, quienes deben tener estabilidad en su empleo durante la gestación y hasta el término del puerperio. Cabe resaltar que las trabajadoras del campo temporales embarazadas durante el tiempo de efectiva prestación de servicios tienen derecho a las prestaciones correspondientes al Seguro de Enfermedades y Maternidad, relativas a servicios médicos y hospitalarios.

In connection to the above, to guarantee compliance with obligations by employers, Labor Inspectors are given the power and duty to carry out inspection visits at least once a year and in season or season of production, establishing potential fines for employers in the range of 250 to 2,500 times the Update and Measurement Unit for non-compliance with the corresponding standards. This fine could be applied per each affected farmworker.

In summary, this reform seeks to strengthen the labor rights of farmworkers, sanctioning those who fail to comply with the provisions, and ensuring fair, safe, and healthy conditions.

Below please find the link to the official publication of the reform in the DOF: https://www.dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5715043&fecha=24/01/2024#gsc.tab=0