“Soon enough”, that is the answer that Lorena Martínez received when she asked about her benefits at the marketing agency she works for. That has already spread a lot soon and this will be the second year that he will not receive aguinaldo. She is one of the 14 million working people in Mexico, they do not have access to this benefit, despite the fact that in practice they work under subordinate conditions and should have this right guaranteed.
Lorena Martínez, whom we named this way to preserve her anonymity, has a fixed salary, a boss from whom she takes orders and cannot reject projects; In essence, she is a paid employee and, despite this, her employer does not cover the Christmas bonus. His working life was not always like this, just over two years ago he had a formal job with legal benefits.
“I had a really bad streak after my last job. I was with pure work freelance like for two years and in the agency it was like that at the beginning. Later, when I started to have more work, I asked for the salary and they gave it to me, but no benefits. Yes I have commented with it about the benefits, but they always tell us that soon. According to this, for next year ”, he relates.
In Mexico, 37% of subordinate workers and paid do not have access to the bonus, according to the National Survey of Occupation and Employment (ENOE) for the third quarter of the year. These people are not independent workers or entrepreneurs, they are employees with an employer and despite the fact that the Federal Labor Law (LFT) protects this right for them, in practice some employers evade it.
In the annual comparison, the line of workers without access to benefits is the one that has grown the most among people with a subordinate occupation, with an increase of 14.5%. Are 1.7 million people those who have joined a job under these conditions compared to the figure reported for the third quarter of 2020.
“There are several factors to which it can be attributed. The first is that there subordinate informal employment without an employment relationship established by means of a contract, but they can be directly informal workers, but they can also be service providers who are hired under a subordination scheme ”, points out Sofía Ramírez, director of the organization México How are we doing?
From the perspective of Carlos Ramírez, Director of Business Development at Integralia Consultores, the growth of the population without access to the Christmas bonus is linked to the weakness of the labor market and its recovery, which has focused on lower-quality jobs.
“People left the labor market, they were left without jobs and they are returning, but without access to these benefits”, Says the specialist.
Sofía Ramírez agrees on this, because in terms of occupation, the labor market has already recovered the places lost due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but there are indicators that show a deterioration in the working conditions of the people who have returned to the economy.
“It is very important to make visible that we do not have a labor market quality that guarantees equality of circumstances and an improvement in the quality of life for more people ”, he explains.
In addition to this, the universe of subordinate workers who do not receive a bonus shows the dominance of the informality in the labor market in Mexico, which must be attacked head-on with business stimuli, adds Sofía Ramírez.
I was used to the Christmas bonus
“I was already used to receiving a aguinaldo, then yes it is something rare and complicated “, shares Carlos Hernández, fictitious name to preserve the anonymity.
Carlos is a salesman in a vehicle dealership in Xalapa, Veracruz, and is hired as professional service providerYou do not have a fixed salary and your income depends on commissions. However, you must adhere to a schedule and wear the uniform, like just another employee.
Like Lorena, circumstances led him to accept a job under these conditions. It was three months without a job after losing his last formal job as an assistant manager at a branch of a supermarket chain.
“They told me that there was no benefits, but they did not tell me what my contract was like, until I signed I realized many things, but I already had a week and a half working, “he details.
This Christmas will be different for Carlos, he has been working in similar conditions for four months as when he was in the supermarket, but the difference is that he will not have the extra income for the holidays, this time there will be no aguinaldo.
According to the Federal Attorney for the Defense of Labor (Profedet), the Christmas bonus It is a right that base, trust, plant, unionized workers have, for a specific work or time, season, for an indefinite period subject to testing or subject to initial training, eventuals, commission agents, commercial agents, insurance agents, vendors , among others that are governed by the Federal Labor Law.
By law, the bonus must cover before December 20 of each year and its amount cannot be less than 15 days’ salary in the case of private sector workers and 40 days for public servants, who can receive it in two payments, half before December 15 and the another part before January 15.
Why is the LFT not respected?
The LFT does not distinguish between formal and informal workers and, therefore, the payment of benefits as the bonus it is mandatory for any employer. But if so, why is it not being respected? Sara Morgan, an independent consultant and specialist in Labor Law, attributes this situation to several factors, from the need for a job to the fear of losing the position due to suing or a calculated risk on the part of the employers.
“Who does not pay a labor benefit He does it on purpose, because we do not live in the 19th century, everyone knows that subordinate workers are paid a Christmas bonus in December ”, he says.
However, the need to have a job leads people to accept a job without the legal benefits. This situation is combined with a calculated risk that employers sometimes take. “Who is going to sue, that is quite an issue because when you sue, you lose your job,” he says.
But informality and the violation of labor rights They are not limited to the private sector, the government also simulates labor relations through schemes such as professional services and thus avoids paying benefits such as the Christmas bonus, explains Sara Morgan.
“Both the authority itself and individuals are making work precarious. This precariousness arises when taxes coupled with social security are very high and, in that case, employers simulate and they prefer to take risks because the loss will be better, perhaps they will demand 100 workers out of 10,000 ”, explains the specialist.
The extra hit
For Sofía Ramírez the lack of access to aguinaldo It is a matter that further complicates the situation of Mexican families, especially in a context of high inflation.
“The fact that prices are rising, especially of goods, greatly impacts the consumption capacity of the most vulnerable families,” says the director of Mexico How are we doing?
Carlos Ramírez agrees that inflation During the end of the year, it further complicates the outlook for people who do not receive this benefit. “High inflationary levels raise the financial stress of many families at the end of the year and without access to these benefits, as it complicates the circumstances even more ”, he underlines
In this sense, the Director of Business Development of Integralia Consultores emphasizes that the labor market has not only gone through a slow recovery, but also with a tendency to Labor conditions more difficult and precarious, which cannot be ignored in market surveillance.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx