Background on STPS and IMSS
The Secretaría del Trabajo y Previsión Social (STPS) is a Mexican government agency responsible for labor and pension matters. The Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) is Mexico’s social security agency, providing medical care, pensions, and other benefits to workers.
Purpose of the Adjustments
To expand the universe of individuals eligible for IMSS coverage, particularly repartidores (delivery workers) and conductores (drivers) of apps, the STPS reduced exclusion percentages for calculating net income. This adjustment aims to ensure more workers can access full social security benefits.
Exclusion Percentages and Their Impact
Exclusion percentages represent income not considered when calculating access to social security for app-based workers. For instance, in category A, out of every 100 pesos earned, 55 pesos were previously excluded from utility calculations.
These percentages are crucial because the reform to the Ley Federal del Trabajo (LFT) established a monthly minimum wage as the criterion for full IMSS coverage. Other IMSS benefits depend on the monthly income generated by workers.
Previous Exclusion Percentages
- Category A: 60%
- Category B: 50%
- Category C: 15%
However, the STPS acknowledged that these percentages could be adjusted based on results from the initial three months of a pilot program.
Why Were Exclusion Percentages Adjusted?
In the first month (July), the IMSS reported 1.2 million app workers affiliated, double the estimated number when the labor reform was proposed.
However, only 13.6% of these workers maintained full IMSS benefits in the second month (August). This means nearly nine out of ten delivery and driving app workers failed to stay affiliated with the IMSS because, after excluding the specified percentages, their net incomes did not meet the monthly minimum wage.
Recognizing the need for broader IMSS coverage access, the STPS decided to reduce exclusion percentages.
Key Questions and Answers
- What are exclusion percentages? Exclusion percentages represent income not considered when calculating access to social security for app-based workers.
- Why were exclusion percentages adjusted? The adjustment aimed to ensure more app-based workers could access full IMSS coverage, as many previously failed to meet the monthly minimum wage requirement.
- What are the new exclusion percentages? The STPS has not yet specified the new exclusion percentages in the provided information. Once announced, these will replace the previous percentages (60% for category A, 50% for category B, and 15% for category C).
- How do these changes impact app-based workers? The adjustments are expected to enable more delivery and driving app workers to maintain IMSS affiliation and access full social security benefits.
