This article by Cristóbal Martínez Riojas originally appeared in the November 21, 2025 edition of El Economista.
Mexico’s unions will put on the negotiating table a proposal to increase the minimum wage by 30.6% by 2026 with the goal of recovering the purchasing power of 50 years ago, says José Luis Carazo, representative and spokesperson for the country’s workers’ sector before the National Minimum Wage Commission (Conasami).
“The request is for a 30.6% increase in the general minimum and professional wages. What is the reason for this request? We want to reach the purchasing power of the minimum wage that we had in 1976,” commented the Secretary of Labor of the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM) in an interview.
Tripartite negotiations to set the minimum wage increase will begin on November 27, according to sources close to the National Minimum Wage Commission (Conasami) Board of Representatives. In addition to the workers’ sector, the other participants are the employers’ sector and the federal government, represented by CONASAMI.
A 30.6% increase, as proposed by the country’s unions, would raise the general minimum wage from 278.80 pesos per day to 362.34 pesos , an increase of 83.54 pesos (11,017 pesos per month). Meanwhile, the border minimum wage would rise from 419.88 pesos to 545.84 pesos per day (16,593 pesos per month).
This country is used to the burden falling solely on the shoulders of the workers.
José Luis Carazo
This proposal from the labor sector exceeds the 12% increase approved for 2025 and is above estimates made by specialists: Banamex forecasts an 11% increase, the organization Acción Ciudadana Frente a la Pobreza proposed a 16% increase for the general minimum wage and 4% for the border minimum wage, and the National Union of Workers (UNT) proposed a 20% direct increase.
The business sector has not yet made public its proposal for the minimum wage negotiations. Meanwhile, the National Minimum Wage Commission (Conasami) announced on November 18 that it is preparing to begin the process of setting the minimum wage in the country . In a statement, it explained that its Technical Directorate is already preparing its annual report on economic performance for 2025. Once completed, it will present the report “at the end of the month.”
Unions Demand Competitiveness Not Come at Expense of Low Wages
The workers’ proposal to increase the minimum wage by 30.6%, which they will take to federal authorities and employers, seeks to recover the purchasing power that existed in 1976, according to José Luis Carazo, spokesperson for the country’s workers’ sector before the National Minimum Wage Commission (CONASAMI).
“We are 30.6 percent behind that 1976 salary. So, we believe it is only fair that after 50 years, for both current and future generations, the minimum wage should finally be as mandated by the Constitution,” Carazo explained.
The 24 organizations that Carazo represents as spokesperson agreed to this proposal last Wednesday, he added.
Their plan does not include a differentiated increase in the minimum wage between the one that applies to 46 border municipalities and the one that applies in the rest of the country.
Another of their objectives with this proposal is that professional minimum wages also rise in the border area because, according to their calculations, they are close to the minimum wage of 419, which will inhibit competitiveness and productivity if both incomes are equalized.
“What worker, when we all earn the same, will have the interest to improve, to prepare, to surpass themselves, to put in the effort if we all earn the same?” Carazo explained.
The union leader warned that if wages do not grow at the same rate, it will lead to workers generally earning a minimum income.
From his perspective, the double-digit increases and his proposed 30.6% are indeed sustainable over time and possible if the mindset is changed from the idea that competitiveness and productivity in Mexico is based solely on offering low wages.
“The country is used to the burden falling solely on the shoulders of the workers, on their competitiveness and their participation in the world,” he added.
Among his proposals to stop wages from being the main element of the country’s competitiveness, Carazo listed improving communication routes, a development bank that promotes investment, more accessible interest rates, reducing red tape, and combating piracy.
“That’s where they could compete much more and fight for those issues, instead of focusing exclusively on the issue of low wages ,” he explained.
The union leader said that they are “firm” in their proposal to achieve the 30.6% increase because it is “fair”.
Mexico & Recent Increases to the Minimum Wage
According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the minimum wage has increased “exceptionally” in recent years.
“Between January 2021 and January 2025, the real minimum wage increased by 56.7%, the largest increase among OECD countries and well above the OECD average, which was 8.8%,” the international organization states in its report OECD Employment Outlook 2025: Mexico.
The policy of significantly increasing the minimum wage began during the previous presidential term and remains a goal of Claudia Sheinbaum’s current administration. Her objective is for this income to cover 2.5 times the cost of the basic food basket. In fact, on November 18th, the mayor stated that the minimum wage has increased by 125% in real terms since 2018.
By law, the increase to the minimum wage must be above inflation, which stood at 3.57 percent until last October.
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