Nondiscrimination Laws

It is frequent to read in the Mexican press advertisements containing flagrant issues of discrimination in hiring against persons of a certain age, of a certain academic background, etc. However there are constitutional and legal provisos banning discrimination, specialty on the basis of gender (Article 164 of the Federal Labor Law).

The reason for this apparent contradiction between facts and laws is that Mexico is not accustomed to a flurry of lawsuits in protection of the equality under the law clauses. It is envisioned that as time passes there will be much more activity in the courts to protect certain fundamental rights regarding nondiscrimination in wages and other terms and conditions of employment.

It should be noted that Article 3 of the Federal Labor Law states very clearly that there cannot be distinctions amongst workers on account of race, sex, age, religious belief, political doctrine or social condition.

This last concept, embodied in the following positive principle: "To equal work, equal pay, regardless of gender, age, nationality etc." is both incorporated in the Constitution (Article 123 Section VII) as well as in the law (Article 86 of the Federal Labor Law). More and more workers will be looking at their peers to be sure they are receiving equal treatment.

Women in the Workplace

The issue of women is one that has been receiving tremendous attention because of world conferences, example from other countries, especially the U.S., and sheer increasing participation in every path of life. Nevertheless, Mexico still does not see the degree of complaints regarding sex abuses which exist in other countries.

Constitutional Preference for Mexicans

There is one issue in which the Mexican legislation is not bashful of being discriminatory, and that is the distinct granting of preferences for Mexican nationals in certain work opportunities. In the matter of government positions, the last paragraph of Article 32 of the Constitution states that assuming equal ability to perform a government job, Mexicans shall be preferred over foreigners. The Mexican Constitution also requires certain high positions in government to be Mexicans.

The Federal Labor Law includes the preferential status for Mexican workers and goes as far as to state in its Article 7 that no less than 90% of the workers in any company be Mexicans, and that except for higher managers whenever the need for a foreigner arises it should be temporary while a Mexican is being trained for such a position.