MEXICO CITY – The Mexican government has agreed to increase the daily minimum wage next year by 22%, Mexican industry associations said on Wednesday, marking another step by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to combat the country’s vast wealth disparity.
Lopez Obrador has steadily lifted wages since taking office three years ago with a vow to prioritize the poor, hiking wages by 20% in 2020 followed by 15% in 2021.
The CCE business lobby said it supported the move, which will raise salaries to 260.34 pesos ($12.15) a day in the northern border zone, home to scores of foreign-owned factories, and 172.87 pesos ($8.07) a day in the rest of country.
“We welcome this agreement … and reiterate our commitment to not leave our colleagues and their families unprotected,” the CCE said in a statement. It also flagged inflation as a challenge to still address.
“Mexico’s economy is beginning a recovery phase with high inflation levels that we need to contain,” the CCE said.
The Mexican government’s National Minimum Wage Commission (CONASAMI) has not yet publicly announced the minimum wage hike.
($1 = 21.4206 Mexican pesos)
(Reporting by Sharay Angulo and Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)