On January 24 of this year, the Official Gazette of the Federation, [in Spanish: el Diario Oficial de la Federación], published in its evening edition the amendments to the Federal Labor Act and Social Security [in Spanish: la Ley Federal del Trabajo and la Ley del Seguro Social respectively].

The provisions that were amended pertain to field workers, and as such, the most relevant changes are as follows:

• It broadens the definition of field workers, which establishes it as individuals who perform work whose primary intention is the procurement of food and primary commodities; provided that the same are not subject to any type of industrial process.  
• It specifies that those who carry out packaging, repackaging, display, or sales activities will not be considered field workers, nor any other activity related to the modification of any process that may change its natural state. 
• It clarifies the classification of permanent and temporary employees. 
• It upholds the 27-hour workweek guideline to be considered a permanent worker.
• It creates the obligation of providing a healthy diet and drinking water to workers in the performance of their work.
• It obligates employers to provide safety elements and protective equipment, and to train workers in matters such as safe work practices.
• It obligates employers to provide to the field worker, his/her relatives, or to financial dependents of those who rely on them, medicines and first-aid materials free of charge for cases related to tropical diseases, endemics, and those which are typical of the region. Moreover, employers are obligated to pay those workers who become incapacitated 75% of their salary up to 90 working days.
• Provisions are added that promote violence-free environments, gender equality, and protection for field workers who are pregnant.
• Restrictions are imposed on employers that prohibit them from employing minors who are 15 years of age, the payment of lower wages for women and workers younger than 18 years of age, the presence of children younger than 15 years of age in the workplace, and salary payments-in-kind, which may include goods, coupons, tokens, or alcoholic beverages. 
• It imposes fines from 250 to 2,500 UMAS on employers who violate these provisions when it is not expressed in writing, and from 250 to 5000 UMAS when shelter is not provided, or when the same do not have the minimum requirements, and when food, water, and washrooms are not provided. 

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