Federal government launches “alert to employers” to avoid job loss in December

Through the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (STPS), the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) and the Institute of the National Housing Fund for Workers (INFONAVIT) the federal government launched an alert for employers to avoid terminating workers in December, as this practice continues despite the reform in subcontracting.

The STPS reported in a statement that for the second consecutive year it detected that “during the month of December their employees are discharged from INFONAVIT and IMSS to rehire them in January of the following year ”, causing them to lose their labor rights.

Although he did not present the number of casualties expected in this month of December, the agency headed by Luisa María Alcalde Liján explained that “the unjustified leave have a negative impact on the continuity of workers’ labor, social security and housing rights ”.

It should be remembered that between November and December 2020, 277,820 jobs were lost, of which 68.8% correspond to workers registered as permanent. This seasonal behavior occurs every year; however, the government reported that the subcontracting reform would prevent job losses in December.

Legitimate temporary hires

The STPS detailed that they are not the temporary hires those that are canceled in December; since these are “hiring, they are legitimate, the truth is that many of the workers discharged in December and rehired in January are registered by the employers in the IMSS as permanent. These casualties are a totally irregular practice. During January 2021, 86,575 workers were rehired with the same company and were discharged in December 2020 ”.

In this sense, the agency, together with INFONAVIT and IMSS, sent a series of letters to the employers who were identified as having engaged in these practices, the foregoing “with the purpose of reviewing whether the management of their workforce is It is in accordance with the current regulatory framework and avoid taking actions that affect the rights of its workers by illegally circumventing the obligations in labor and social security matters ”.

He also reminded the patterns that non-compliance with labor and social security obligations has legal consequences that can put the finances of companies at risk and even lead employers to face administrative and criminal responsibilities.

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