UOM Study Says Low Minimum Wage Condemns Mexican Workers to Malnutrition Patricia Munoz Rios - La Jornada
go to original January 28, 2013

The longstanding wage lag in Mexico contrasts with steady increases in the prices of basic food products. This disparity has led to increasingly less food reaching the workers' tables, who have to reduce consumption of meat, chicken, milk and eggs, among others. [The wage lag thus] affects the nutrition of minimum wage workers, warns a report by the Workers University of Mexico (UOM).

The document, titled Malnutrition and Obesity, the Public Face of Mexico's Food Catastrophe, states that the reduced purchasing power of minimum wage salaries makes it difficult for the population to gain access to the most basic foodstuffs.

The study conducted by the specialist Laura Juárez indicates that "the minimum wage [depending on location, 57 to 60 pesos (USD$4.49 to $4.72) per day] cannot satisfy workers' basic calorie and protein requirements," as it permits an average of only 400 grams of calories per person, when the daily nutritional requirement is 2,180 grams."

Similarly, minimum-wage workers have access to acquire an average of only 13 grams of protein a day, when international standards indicate that the diet requires an average of 69 grams of protein per person per day.

Although the average family requires at least 10,898 grams of calories a day, it has access to only 2,110 calories, i.e., less than a fifth [of the requirement], states the research, which suggests that six minimum salaries are required to cover a family's food requirements. In this way, the longstanding lag in workers' salaries affects their nutrition levels.

The UOM analysis also emphasizes that minimum wages are not sufficient for workers to have access to good nutrition, much less to meet other needs such as housing, health, education, clothing and culture.

In a comparison of prices and wages, the university noted that from December 1994 to November 2012, the minimum wage--for Zone A--increased 333 per cent, and 342 per cent for contract workers. However, during this period the price of tortillas rose 1,364 percent; white bread 980 percent; wheat flour 785.7 percent; beef 700 percent; milk 611 percent; beans 623.6 percent; chicken 633.5 percent; eggs 862.5 percent; rice 473.9 percent; and coffee 427.5 percent.

The document states that increases in poverty, malnutrition and poor diet demonstrate that neoliberal policies threaten the survival of the population, as they are unable to ensure sufficient and affordable food.

See Spanish original

Posted by Jane Brundage for Mexico Voices

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