On November 21, 2017, the Mexican National Commission on Minimum Wages (Comisión Nacional de los Salarios Mínimos or CONASAMI) issued a resolution decreeing an increase in the Daily General Minimum Wage (DGMW) applicable for Mexico . Note that the DGMW will continue to be $80.04 Mexican pesos (MXP) (which is approximately equivalent to $4.25 USD) effective December 1, 2017.

Prior to determining the annual increase to the 2018 DGMW for all legal effects, the CONASAMI increased the current 2017 DGMW by $5.00 MXP, as an “Independent Recovery Amount” that made the new DGMW, equal to $85.04 MXP (approximately $4.52 USD). The reason behind this “recovery increase” was to adjust for 2017 global economic and political events, which significantly affected the currency exchange rate between Mexican pesos and USDs.

In addition to the increase noted above, the CONASAMI approved a 3.9 percent increase in addition to the aforementioned new DGMW for December 2017, leaving a final DGMW of $88.36 MXP (which is approximately $4.70 USD).

The aforementioned increase is awaiting publication in the Official Gazette of the Federation (Diario Oficial de la Federación).

It should be noted that the 3.9 percent increase may serve as a general guideline for revising scaled wages in collective bargaining agreements applicable to Mexican companies; however, employers may want to analyze each particular case on an independent basis.

The Mexico City office of Ogletree Deakins will continue to monitor and report on developments in the labor and employment laws of Mexico as they occur.