One hundred Mexican companies have announced they will raise the minimum monthly salary of their employees to 6,500 pesos (US $340).

Corporate directors from Citibanamex, Corporación Zapata, Tajín and Grupo Pochteca, representing the 100-member organization Empresas Por El Bienestar (Companies for Wellbeing), told a press conference on Wednesday that the initiative will contribute to the construction of a “middle-class Mexico.”

“Starting from a base of the average home containing 1.7 workers, the 6,500-peso monthly payment will put us just above the poverty threshold determined by [the social development agency] Coneval,” they told reporters.

The company representatives emphasized that participation is not obligatory, but the group has been working on the initiative for five years and expects it to have a positive impact that will be reflected in the growth of the country.

“The impact in the short and long term will be positive, in the consumption and incomes of Mexican families. It will become a virtuous cycle and that’s why we’re making this sacrifice to push the country’s economy to be even stronger.”

They stressed that 48% of formal jobs in the country offer less than 6,500 pesos per month, but the companies in the group will all pay all their employees at least that much beginning on December 1.

Although the first year of President López Obrador’s administration has brought doubt to many in the private sector, the 100 companies see a more favorable and receptive environment ahead.

In accordance with what they have seen in the current international economic climate, they believe they can implement the change without causing higher inflation.

“These 100 companies promise that [the raise] will not have a negative impact on prices, therefore it won’t have an inflationary effect . . . the objective is to increase the attraction of formal employment.”

A full list of the member companies to the group can be found at the 100 Empresas Por El Bienestar website.

Source: Siete24 Noticias (sp)