ISLAMABAD/MEXICO CITY: United States (US) and Mexican officials on Tuesday said 13,000 Mexican migrant workers are owed a total of $6.5 million in unpaid wages from United States workplaces and will work to help beneficiaries, now living in Mexico claim their pay from United States labor authorities.
United States Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar said the effort marked an unprecedented collaboration between the United States and Mexico to support workers who, for years, have been short-changed.
“In past governments, this wouldn’t have happened,” he said at an event in Mexico City alongside Mexican labor officials.
“Now, because of the relationship we have … workers who have paid with their sweat will receive the pay they deserve.”
US Department of Labour Wage
The US Department of Labour’s Wage and Hour Division, which enforces labour law and recovers unpaid wages, determined who was owed back-wages through its inspections of United States workplaces, Mexico’s Labor Ministry said in a statement.
It will share a list of names with Mexican officials so they can attempt to locate the employees, many of whom had not been paid the legal minimum or had not been paid for overtime.
Officials didn’t detail the industries or companies that had hired the workers or the period they were owed.
Thea Lee, deputy undersecretary for international affairs at the United States Labor Department, said the effort to help Mexican workers was a pilot program that showed the United States’ commitment to workers in the country regardless of their migration status.
