Promise or reality? Sheinbaum announces “labour spring” with IMSS minimum wage and a 40-hour day
President Claudia Sheinbaum said it in the middle of the morning conference: the “work spring” is here to stay. The star ad? An agreement so that all State workers earn at least the average IMSS salary of 2024, with increases above inflation. In addition, he signed the constitutional pact for the gradual implementation of the 40-hour work week.
“For the good of all, first the poor. For the good of all, first the workers,” said Sheinbaum, dedicating the morning to labor achievements.
The data that boasts
The Secretary of Labor, Marath Bolaños, released figures to silence mouths: the minimum wage rose 256% in real terms, going from 88.36 pesos per day under neoliberalism to 315.04 pesos today. The result? Purchasing power grew 154%, and now a basic basket is covered with 1.91 minimum wages, versus 0.78 before.
- Outsourcing eliminated: 3 million workers recognized by their true employers.
- PTU distributed 259 billion pesos in 2025, a cumulative increase of 150%.
- Unemployment fell from 3.7% to 2.4% between 2018 and 2026.
- Poverty: 13.5 million people got out of that hole, 6.6 million thanks to the wage policy.
The 40-hour day: dream or reality?
After 100 years, the working day is reduced from 48 to 40 hours per week. Bolaños assured that it will benefit more than 14 million people. The Agro-export Labor Certificate was also created to guarantee decent conditions in the field.
“Sovereignty is not negotiated,” stated Sheinbaum, in the face of the “external attack.” “With the United States we cooperate, we coordinate, but we will never subordinate ourselves.”
Union leaders, such as Tereso Medina (CTM) and Napoleón Gómez Urrutia (miners), applauded. But one wonders: how many times have we heard promises like that? The history of labor rights in Mexico is full of dead letters. We’ll see if this time the scalpel of the law cuts the flesh.
