According to Mexican law remuneration of a worker is the principal object of interest of the labor relation from the point of view of the employee and consequently the wage must fulfill certain public interest requirements.

Minimum Wage in Mexico

The first obligation for any salary is to be at least equal to the minimum wage for the profession or region in the country, as we will discuss later. It should be proportionate to the time worked by the employee.

The following are also legal attributes of the salary. It must be sufficient to assure a decent standard of living for the worker and his/her family. This is the most troublesome social issue in Mexico as wages have fallen dramatically in the last 16 years.

The salary should be determined or specific so the worker knows in advance the remuneration and this can never be left at the arbitrary fixing by the employer. It should be paid periodically. Each week for industrial workers and bimonthly to the rest.

It is permitted to pay certain bonuses in kind as long as there is a reasonable proportion between the wage that would have been paid and the value of the products. Finally there must be reciprocity amongst service and salary.

General and Professional Minimum Wage in Mexico 

In Mexico the concept of the minimum wage is divided in professional and geographical meaning that if the person has an expertise he/she will be in a higher bracket of income. Only if the worker is a non experienced person he/she may fall in the geographical (zone) concept.

Annual Bonuses in Mexico 

The remuneration also includes an annual bonus that has to be paid before December 20th and should not be less than 15 additional days of salary. This is a mandatory concept in view of the holidays at the end of the year. The other matter of remuneration we should discuss is profit sharing.

Profit Sharing in Mexico

Aside from contractual formulas the Mexican general system is to grant the workers a proportion of the profits once the necessary reinvestment has taken place. It consists in the use of the income tax base on corporations and applies a 10% rate which is then distributed.

The criteria for individual right is interesting because half of the profit is distributed equally amongst all workers according to days worked and the other half is distributed according to differences in the wage level. The first half guarantees certain progressivity.

The Union then has recourse before the Mexican Internal Revenue Service to object to the tax return of the employer and request an audit, which could result in higher profit sharing and consequently a higher tax liability.

The Supreme Court has interpreted harmoniously articles 123 literal "A", fraction VI, first and third paragraphs of the Constitution and articles 91 a 96, 162, 485, 486 y 551 a 570, of the Federal Labor Law and concluded that for the purpose of calculating the bonus to be paid on account of seniority it should be based on the general minimum wage unless in the labor proceeding it appears that the worker received a professional minimum wage in conformity with the resolution that the National Commission on Minimum Wages has issued or it derives from the collective contract governing the labor relation.

In conformity with Article 123 literal A fraction XXVII paragraph h) of the Mexican Constitution all stipulations shall be null and void that imply the renunciation of any right established in favor of the worker in the protective labor laws. Article 394 of the Federal Labor Law mandates that no pact may be reached with less favourable conditions to those existing in the contracts in force in the company or enterprise. However, the Supreme Court has stated that a labor bonus may be reduced as part of a revision of a collective contract as long as the constitutional and legal minimum rights are respected.

In conformity with articles 83, 84, 286, 287, 784, 804 and relatives of the Labor law the payment of commission is a legal concept which forms part of the Federal Labor Law and or is in itself part of the wage, and therefore if there is a controversy regarding it the burden of the proof, regarding the commissions to be received by the workers, belongs to the employer as mandated by article 784 fraction XII of said law that orders the employer to prove his position when there is a controversy on the amount and payment of the wage.