Introduction to the National Commission of Minimum Wages (Conasami)
The National Commission of Minimum Wages (Conasami) has unveiled its Institutional Program 2025-2030, setting forth a technical roadmap to establish what it calls the “second salary floor.” This initiative aims to ensure that, by the end of the six-year period, a worker earning the minimum wage can afford 2.5 basic baskets (comprising both food and non-food items), thus covering their own needs and those of an economic dependent.
Intermediate Goals for 2026
Conasami has set critical intermediate targets for 2026, raising the indicator of well-being from 1.76 units projected for 2025 to 1.89 consumption units. In the realm of professional salaries, the strategy for 2026 is even more ambitious, with a goal to enable the acquisition of 2.48 basic baskets through these specialized remunerations.
Technical Approach and Implementation
To achieve these goals, Conasami’s Technical Direction will implement a comprehensive overhaul of the Professional Minimum Wage System using the Employment Conditions Index. This technical tool evaluates labor precarity across four fundamental dimensions: working conditions, legal protection, social protection, and sociodemographic factors, utilizing data from the National Occupation and Employment Survey (ENOE) by Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi).
Under this model, Conasami commits to conducting a validity diagnosis in 2026 to exclude occupations no longer representative of the current job market while simultaneously incorporating new categories exhibiting high vulnerability. Alongside this professional list update, technical studies on gender gaps in historically discriminated groups will be conducted, maintaining the objective of ensuring that women’s wages grow at a faster rate than men’s.
Inflation Protection and New Measurement Methodology
All salary fixes for 2026 will be based on technical criteria ensuring that increases never fall below observed inflation rates. This policy aims to safeguard the recovered purchasing power, which has already grown by a real 129.4% in the general zone compared to the end of 2018.
Conasami is transitioning towards a new measurement methodology based on a “basic basket with human rights perspective” that integrates not only food but also health, education, and housing as pillars of a dignified life.
Key Questions and Answers
- What is Conasami? The National Commission of Minimum Wages (Conasami) is a Mexican government body responsible for setting and adjusting the minimum wage across the country.
- What is the “second salary floor”? It refers to Conasami’s plan to ensure that minimum wage workers can afford 2.5 basic baskets by 2030, covering both their needs and those of an economic dependent.
- How will Conasami achieve this goal? By implementing a comprehensive overhaul of the Professional Minimum Wage System, conducting validity diagnoses, and integrating new categories with high vulnerability. They will also ensure that wage increases never fall below observed inflation rates.
- What dimensions does the Employment Conditions Index evaluate? The index assesses labor precarity through working conditions, legal protection, social protection, and sociodemographic factors using data from the National Occupation and Employment Survey (ENOE).
- What is the new measurement methodology based on? Conasami is transitioning to a “basic basket with human rights perspective” that integrates food, health, education, and housing as pillars of a dignified life.
