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Article 123 of the Mexican Political Constitution

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Article 123 of the Mexican Political Constitution

Everyone has the right to decent and socially useful work; to this end, the creation of jobs and the social organization of work shall be promoted, in accordance with the law.

Paragraph added DOF 19-12-1978. Amended DOF 18-06-2008

The Congress of the Union, without contravening the following bases, shall issue laws on labor, which shall govern:

Paragraph amended DOF 06-09-1929, 05-12-1960. Amended and relocated DOF 19-12-1978. Amended DOF 18-06-2008

  1. Among laborers, day laborers, domestic servants, artisans, and in a general way, all labor contracts:
    1. The maximum working day shall be eight hours.(Last Reform DOF 28-05-2021).
    2. The maximum night work day shall be 7 hours. The following are prohibited: unhealthy or dangerous work, industrial night work, and all other work after ten o’clock at night for minors under sixteen years of age;(Reformed fraction DOF 21-11-1962, 31-12-1974)
    3. It is forbidden to use the work of minors under fifteen years of age. Those over this age and under the age of sixteen shall have a maximum working day of six hours.(Reformed fraction DOF 21-11-1962, 17-06-2014)
    4. For every six days of work, the worker must have at least one day off.
    5. Women during pregnancy shall not perform work that requires considerable effort and represents a danger to their health in relation to pregnancy; they shall be obliged to have a rest period of six weeks prior to the date set for the birth and six weeks after the birth, and they shall receive their full salary and keep their jobs and the rights they have acquired through the employment relationship. During the breastfeeding period, they shall have two extra breaks per day, of half an hour each, to feed their children;(Reformed fraction DOF 31-12-1974)
    6. The minimum wages to be enjoyed by workers shall be general or professional. The former shall apply in the geographic areas to be determined; the latter shall apply to specific branches of economic activity or to professions, trades or special jobs. The minimum wage may not be used as an index, unit, base, measure or reference for purposes unrelated to its nature.(Amended paragraph DOF 27-01-2016.)
      General minimum wages shall be sufficient to satisfy the normal material, social and cultural needs of a head of household and to provide for the compulsory education of children. The minimum occupational wages shall also be fixed taking into account the conditions of the various economic activities.Minimum wages shall be set by a national commission composed of representatives of workers, employers and the government, which may be assisted by special commissions of a consultative nature that it deems indispensable for the best performance of its functions.
      (Fraction reformed DOF 21-11-1962, 23-12-1986 )
    7. Equal pay for equal work, regardless of sex and nationality.
    8. The minimum wage shall be exempt from attachment, set-off or deduction.
    9. Workers shall be entitled to a share in the profits of the companies, regulated in accordance with the following rules:
      1. National Commission, made up of representatives of the workers, the employers and the Government, shall determine the percentage of profits to be distributed among the workers;
      2. The National Commission shall carry out the necessary and appropriate investigations and studies to ascertain the general conditions of the national economy. It shall also take into consideration the need to promote the industrial development of the country, the reasonable interest to be paid on capital and the necessary reinvestment of capital;
      3. The same Commission may review the percentage fixed when new studies and research justify it.
      4. The Law may exempt from the obligation to distribute profits to newly created companies for a determined and limited number of years, exploration works and other activities when justified by their nature and particular conditions;
      5. In order to determine the amount of the profits of each company, the taxable income will be taken as a basis in accordance with the provisions of the Income Tax Law. The workers may file before the corresponding Office of the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit the objections they deem appropriate, in accordance with the procedure determined by law;
      6. The right of workers to participate in the profits does not imply the power to intervene in the management or administration of the companies.(Reformed fraction DOF 04-11-1933, 21-11-1962)
    10. Wages shall be paid precisely in legal tender, and may not be paid with merchandise, vouchers, tokens or any other representative sign intended to substitute currency.
    11. When, due to extraordinary circumstances, the hours of the working day must be increased, 100% more than the normal hours shall be paid as salary for the excess time. In no case may overtime work exceed three hours a day, nor three consecutive times. Minors under sixteen years of age shall not be admitted to this type of work.
    12. Every agricultural, industrial, mining or any other type of work enterprise shall be obliged, as determined by the regulatory laws, to provide workers with comfortable and hygienic housing. This obligation shall be fulfilled through the contributions that the companies make to a national housing fund in order to constitute deposits in favor of their workers and establish a financing system that allows them to be granted cheap and sufficient credit so that they may acquire ownership of such housing.It is considered to be of social utility to issue a law for the creation of a body made up of representatives of the Federal Government, workers and employers, to administer the resources of the national housing fund. This law will regulate the forms and procedures according to which workers will be able to acquire ownership of the aforementioned housing. The negotiations referred to in the first paragraph of this section, located outside the towns, are obliged to establish schools, infirmaries, and other necessary services to the community.In addition, in those same work centers, when their population exceeds two hundred (sic DOF 09-01-1978) inhabitants, a space of land, which shall not be less than five thousand square meters, shall be reserved for the establishment of public markets, installation of buildings for municipal services and recreational centers. The establishment of intoxicating beverage outlets and gambling establishments is prohibited in all workplaces.
      (Paragraph added DOF 09-01-1978, Reformed fraction DOF 14-02-1972)
    13. Companies, regardless of their activity, shall be obliged to provide their workers with on-the-job training. The regulatory law shall determine the systems, methods and procedures in accordance with which employers must comply with this obligation.
      Reformed fraction DOF 09-01-1978
    14. Employers shall be liable for occupational accidents and occupational diseases of workers, suffered by reason of or in the exercise of the profession or work they perform; therefore, employers shall pay the corresponding indemnity, depending on whether it has resulted in death or simply temporary or permanent incapacity to work, in accordance with the provisions of the law. This liability shall subsist even in the event that the employer contracts the work through an intermediary.
    15. The employer shall be obliged to observe, in accordance with the nature of his business, the legal precepts on hygiene and safety in the installations of his establishment, and to adopt adequate measures to prevent accidents in the use of machines, instruments and work materials, as well as to organize the latter in such a way as to provide the greatest guarantee for the health and life of the workers, and of the product of conception, in the case of pregnant women. The laws shall contain, for this purpose, the appropriate penalties in each case; (Reformed fraction DOF 31-12-1974)
    16. Both workers and employers shall have the right to join together in defense of their respective interests, forming trade unions, professional associations, etc.
    17. The laws shall recognize strikes and work stoppages as a right of workers and employers.
    18. Strikes shall be lawful when their purpose is to achieve a balance between the various factors of production, harmonizing the rights of labor with those of capital. In public services, it shall be obligatory for workers to give ten days’ notice to the labor courts of the date set for the suspension of work. Strikes shall be considered unlawful only when the majority of the strikers carry out violent acts against persons or property, or in the case of war, when they belong to establishments and services that depend on the Government.In order to obtain the execution of a collective bargaining agreement, it is necessary to prove that the workers are represented.(Reformed fraction DOF 31-12-1938, 24-02-2017).
    19. Work stoppages shall be lawful only when excess production makes it necessary to suspend work in order to keep prices within an affordable limit, subject to the approval of the labor courts.
      (Reformed fraction DOF 24-02-2017)
    20. The resolution of differences or conflicts between workers and employers shall be the responsibility of the labor courts of the Judicial Power of the Federation or of the federal entities, whose members shall be appointed in accordance with the provisions of articles 94, 97, 116, section III, and 122, paragraph A, section IV of this Constitution, as the case may be, and shall have capacity and experience in labor matters. Their rulings and resolutions shall observe the principles of legality, impartiality, transparency, autonomy and independence.
      Before going to the labor courts, workers and employers must attend the corresponding conciliatory instance. At the local level, the conciliatory function will be the responsibility of the Conciliation Centers, specialized and impartial, which will be established in the federal entities. These centers will have legal personality and their own assets. They will have full technical, operational, budgetary, decision-making and management autonomy. They will be governed by the principles of certainty, independence, legality, impartiality, reliability, efficiency, objectivity, professionalism, transparency and publicity. Their integration and functioning will be determined by local laws.
      The law shall determine the procedure to be observed at the conciliation stage. In any case, the conciliation stage shall consist of a single mandatory hearing, with a date and time duly fixed in an expeditious manner. Subsequent conciliation hearings shall only be held with the agreement of the parties to the conflict. The law will establish the rules for labor agreements to acquire the status of res judicata, as well as for their enforcement.
      At the federal level, the conciliatory function will be carried out by a decentralized body. The decentralized body shall also be responsible for the registration of all collective bargaining agreements and trade union organizations, as well as all related administrative processes.
      The decentralized body referred to in the preceding paragraph shall have legal personality and its own assets, full technical, operational, budgetary, decision-making and management autonomy. It shall be governed by the principles of certainty, independence, legality, impartiality, reliability, efficiency, objectivity, professionalism, transparency and publicity. Its integration and operation will be determined in the law of the matter.
      For the appointment of the head of the decentralized agency referred to in the preceding paragraph, the Federal Executive shall submit a list of three candidates to the consideration of the Senate, which, after the appearance of the proposed persons, shall make the corresponding appointment. The appointment shall be made by a two-thirds vote of the members of the Senate present, within a non-extendable period of thirty days. If the Chamber of Senators does not decide within said term, the person who, from among said list of three, is designated by the Federal Executive shall occupy the position.
      In the event that the Chamber of Senators rejects the entire proposed list of three candidates, the Federal Executive shall submit a new one, under the terms of the preceding paragraph. If this second list of three candidates is rejected, the person designated by the Federal Executive shall occupy the position.
      The appointment must be made to a person who has the capacity and experience in the areas of competence of the decentralized body; who has not held a position in any political party, nor been a candidate for public office in the three years prior to the appointment; and who enjoys a good reputation and has not been convicted of an intentional crime. He or she must also meet the requirements established by law. He or she shall serve for a term of six years and may be re-elected only once. In the event of absolute absence, the substitute will be appointed to complete the respective period. He may only be removed for serious cause under the terms of Title IV of this Constitution and may not hold any other employment, position or commission, with the exception of those in which they act on behalf of the body and those not remunerated in teaching, scientific, cultural or charitable activities. Reformed fraction DOF 24-02-2017
    21. If the employer refuses to submit his differences to arbitration or to comply with the resolution, the employment contract shall be terminated and he shall be obliged to indemnify the worker with the amount of three months’ salary, in addition to the liability resulting from the conflict. This provision shall not be applicable in the cases of the actions set forth in the following section. If the refusal is on the part of the workers, the employment contract will be terminated.
    22. The employer who dismisses a worker without just cause or for having joined an association or trade union, or for having taken part in a lawful strike, shall be obliged, at the choice of the worker, to fulfil the contract or to compensate him with the amount of three months’ wages. The law shall determine the cases in which the employer may be exempted from the obligation to fulfil the contract by payment of compensation. The employer shall also have the obligation to compensate the worker with the amount of three months’ salary when he withdraws from service due to lack of probity on the part of the employer or for receiving bad treatment from him, either in his person or in that of his spouse, parents, children or siblings. The employer may not exempt himself from this responsibility when the ill-treatment comes from dependents or relatives who act with the consent (sic DOF 21-11-1962) or tolerance of the employer.
      Reformed fraction DOF 21-11-1962

      1. 22 Bis. The procedures and requirements established by law to ensure freedom of collective bargaining and the legitimate interests of workers and employers shall guarantee, among others, the following principles:
        1. representativeness of trade union organizations, and
        2. Certainty in the signing, registration, and deposit of collective bargaining agreements.

          For the resolution of conflicts between trade unions, the request for the conclusion of a collective bargaining agreement and the election of leaders, the vote of the workers shall be personal, free and secret. The law shall guarantee compliance with these principles. Based on the foregoing, for the election of leaders, the trade union statutes may, in accordance with the provisions of the law, establish procedural modalities applicable to the respective processes.

    23. The credits in favor of the workers for wages or salaries accrued in the last year, and for severance payments, shall have preference over any other in cases of bankruptcy or insolvency.
    24. For debts contracted by workers in favor of their employers, associates, family members or dependents, only the worker himself shall be liable, and in no case and for no reason may such debts be demanded from the members of his family, nor shall such debts be demandable for the amount in excess of the worker’s salary in a month.
    25. The service for the placement of workers shall be free of charge for them, whether it is provided by municipal offices, labor exchanges or any other official or private institution.In the provision of this service, the demand for labour will be taken into account and, all other things being equal, priority will be given to those who represent the sole source of income in their family.
      Reformed fraction DOF 31-12-1974
    26. Any employment contract entered into between a Mexican and a foreign employer shall be legalized by the competent municipal authority and endorsed by the Consul of the Nation to which the worker is to go, in the concept that in addition to the ordinary clauses, it shall be clearly specified that repatriation expenses are to be borne by the contracting employer.
    27. They shall be null and void and shall not bind the contracting parties, even if they are expressed in the contract:

      1. Those that stipulate an inhumane working day because it is notoriously excessive, given the nature of the work.
      2. Those that set a wage that is not remunerative in the opinion of the labour courts.
        Reformed clause DOF 24-02-2017
      3. Those that stipulate a period longer than one week for the payment of wages.
      4. Those that indicate a place of recreation, inn, café, tavern, tavern, canteen or shop for the payment of wages, when they do not involve employees in those establishments.
      5. Those involving a direct or indirect obligation to purchase consumer goods in specific shops or places.
      6. Those that allow salary to be withheld as a fine.
      7. Those that constitute waiver made by the worker of the indemnities to which he/she is entitled due to work-related accidents and occupational diseases, damages caused by breach of contract or dismissal from the work.
      8. All other stipulations that imply the waiver of any right established in favor of the worker in the laws of protection and assistance to workers.
    28. The laws shall determine the property constituting the patrimony of the family, which property shall be inalienable, shall not be subject to real encumbrances or attachments, and shall be transmissible by inheritance with simplification of the formalities of inheritance proceedings.
    29. The Social Security Law is of public utility, and it shall include insurance for disability, old age, life, involuntary cessation of work, illness and accidents, childcare services and any other insurance aimed at the protection and welfare of workers, peasants, non-wage earners and other social sectors and their families.
      Reformed fraction DOF 06-09-1929, 31-12-1974
    30. Likewise, cooperative societies for the construction of cheap and hygienic houses, intended to be acquired in property by the workers in determined terms, shall be considered of social utility.
    31.  The application of labour laws corresponds to the authorities of the federal entities, within their respective jurisdictions, but is the exclusive competence of the federal authorities in matters relating to:
      1. Industrial branches and services.
        Reformed heading of clause DOF 27-06-1990

        1. Textile;
        2. Electric;
        3. Cinematographic;
        4. Pulp mill;
        5. Sugar factory;
        6. Mining;
        7. Metallurgy and iron and steel, including the exploitation of basic minerals, their processing and smelting, as well as the production of metallic iron and steel in all its forms and alloys and rolled products thereof;
        8. Hydrocarbons;
        9. Petrochemicals;
        10. Cement;
        11. Calera;
        12. Automotive, including mechanical or electrical auto parts;
        13. Chemistry, including pharmaceutical chemistry and drugs;
        14. Cellulose and paper;
        15. Of vegetable oils and fats;
        16. Producer of food, covering exclusively the manufacture of food that is packaged, canned or packaged or intended for that purpose;
        17. Manufacture of beverages that are packaged or canned or intended for that purpose;
        18. Railway;
        19. Basic lumber, which includes sawmill production and the manufacture of plywood or wood agglutinates;
          Erratum to the numeral DOF 13-01-1978
        20. Glassworks, exclusively for the manufacture of flat, smooth or cut glass, or glass containers; and
        21. Tobacco processing, which includes the processing or manufacture of tobacco products;
        22. Banking and credit services.
      2.  Companies:
        1. Those that are administered directly or decentralized by the Federal Government;
        2. Those operating under a federal contract or concession and related industries; and
        3. Those that carry out works in federal zones or under federal jurisdiction, in territorial waters or in those included in the exclusive economic zone of the Nation.
        4. Employer obligations in educational matters, under the terms of the law, and Subjects:
          1. The registration of all collective bargaining agreements and trade union organizations, as well as all related administrative processes;
          2. The application of labour provisions in matters relating to disputes involving two or more federative entities;
          3. Collective bargaining agreements that have been declared mandatory in more than one state;
          4. Employer obligations in educational matters, under the terms of the law, and
          5. Employers’ obligations in terms of training and education of their workers, as well as health and safety in the workplace, for which the federal authorities will be assisted by the state authorities, in the case of branches or activities under local jurisdiction, under the terms of the corresponding law.
            Subsection added DOF 24-02-2017 | Reform DOF 24-02-2017: Repealed the then second paragraph of the section. | Section added DOF 18-11-1942. Amended DOF 21-11-1962, 06-02-1975. Erratum DOF 17-03-1975. Amended DOF 09-01-1978
  2. Between the Powers of the Union and its workers:

    Amended paragraph DOF 08-10-1974, 29-01-2016

    1. The maximum daily working day and night shifts shall be eight and seven hours respectively. Any overtime shall be overtime and shall be paid at one hundred per cent more than the remuneration fixed for ordinary service. In no case may overtime work exceed three hours a day or three consecutive times;
    2. For every six days of work, the worker shall enjoy at least one day off with full pay;
    3. Workers shall enjoy vacations that shall never be less than twenty days a year;
    4.  Salaries shall be fixed in the respective budgets, and their amount may not be reduced during their validity, subject to the provisions of Article 127 of this Constitution and the law.
      Amended paragraph DOF 24-08-2009
      In no case may wages be lower than the minimum wage for workers in general in the federal entities.
      Amended paragraph DOF 29-01-2016 | Reformed fraction DOF 27-11-1961
    5. Equal pay for equal work, regardless of sex;
    6. Wage withholdings, discounts, deductions or garnishments may only be made in the cases provided for by law;
    7. The appointment of personnel shall be made by means of systems that make it possible to assess the knowledge and aptitudes of the applicants. The State shall organize schools of public administration;
    8. Workers shall have the right to promotion so that promotions are granted on the basis of knowledge, skills and seniority. All other things being equal, priority shall be given to those who represent the only source of income in their families;

      Reformed fraction DOF 31-12-1974

    9. (sic 05-12-1960). Workers may only be suspended or dismissed for just cause, under the terms established by law.In the event of unjustified separation, they shall have the right to opt for reinstatement in their job or the corresponding compensation after the legal procedure has been followed. In the case of the elimination of positions, the affected workers will have the right to be granted another equivalent to the one eliminated or to the compensation provided by law;
    10. Workers shall have the right to associate for the defense of their common interests. They may also make use of the right to strike, subject to compliance with the requirements determined by law, with respect to one or more agencies of the Public Powers, when the rights enshrined in this article are violated in a general and systematic manner;
    11. Social security shall be organized on the following minimum bases:
      1. It shall cover occupational accidents and diseases; non-occupational diseases and maternity; and retirement, invalidity, old age and death.
      2. In case of accident or illness, the right to work shall be retained for the period of time determined by law.
      3. During pregnancy, women shall not perform work that requires considerable effort and poses a danger to their health in connection with pregnancy; they shall be obliged to take one month’s rest before the approximate date set for childbirth and another two months after childbirth, and they shall receive their full wages and retain their jobs and the rights they have acquired through their employment relationship. During the breastfeeding period, they shall have two extra breaks per day, of half an hour each, to feed their children. In addition, they shall enjoy medical and obstetric assistance, medicines, breastfeeding aids and childcare services.
        Reformed clause DOF 31-12-1974
      4. Workers’ family members shall be entitled to medical assistance and medicines, in the cases and in the proportion determined by law.
      5. Vacation and recuperation centers and economic stores shall be established for the benefit of workers and their families.
      6. Workers shall be provided with cheap housing, either for rent or sale, in accordance with previously approved programmes. In addition, the State, through the contributions it makes, shall establish a national housing fund in order to constitute deposits in favor of said workers and establish a financing system that will allow them to be granted cheap and sufficient credit to acquire comfortable and hygienic housing, or to build, repair or improve them, or to pay liabilities acquired for these concepts.The contributions made to said fund shall be paid to the agency in charge of social security, the form and procedure according to which said fund shall be administered and the respective credits shall be granted and awarded being regulated in its Law and in the corresponding laws.
        Reformed clause DOF 10-11-1972
    12. Individual, collective or inter-union disputes shall be submitted to a Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Court composed according to the provisions of the regulatory law.Disputes between the Federal Judicial Branch and its employees will be resolved by the Federal Judiciary Council; those between the Supreme Court of Justice and its employees will be resolved by the latter.
    13. The military, marines, foreign service personnel, agents of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, experts and members of police institutions shall be governed by their own laws.The agents of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, experts and members of the police institutions of the Federation, the federal entities and the municipalities may be removed from their posts if they do not meet the requirements that the laws in force at the time of the act stipulate for remaining in those institutions, or removed for incurring responsibility in the performance of their duties. If the jurisdictional authority decides that the separation, removal, discharge, dismissal, cessation, or any other form of termination of service was unjustified, the State shall only be obliged to pay the indemnification and other benefits to which they are entitled, and in no case shall they be reinstated in service, regardless of the outcome of the lawsuit or means of defense that may have been filed.

      Amended paragraph DOF 29-01-2016

      The federal, state and municipal authorities, in order to strengthen the social security system for staff of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, police forces and forensic services, their families and dependents, will implement complementary social security systems.

      Amended paragraph DOF 29-01-2016

      The State shall provide active members of the Army, Air Force and Navy with the benefits referred to in subparagraph (f) of section XI of this paragraph, on similar terms and through the body responsible for the social security of the members of those institutions.

      Reformed fraction DOF 10-11-1972, 08-03-1999, 18-06-2008

      1. 13 (XIII) bis. The central bank and the entities of the Federal Public Administration that are part of the Mexican banking system shall govern their labor relations with their workers by the provisions of this Section.

        Section added DOF 17-11-1982. Reformed DOF 27-06-1990, 20-08-1993.

    14. The law shall determine the positions that shall be considered positions of trust. The persons who perform them shall enjoy the salary protection measures and shall enjoy the benefits of social security.

      Paragraph B with added fractions DOF 05-12-1960