Minimum Wage
Hope I'm not breaking any rules here; This is a quote from a poster on Zihuatanejo.net "As of today, the minimum wage rate for Zone A is MXP $70.10, for B MXP $66.45. At the current exchange rate, ...
Forum Discussion
We’ve been traveling to Mexico for over 35 years, with extensive time in a small fishing village on the West coast of Jalisco each year for more than 17 years.
We embrace the local community and support local projects and families in need. This indigenous community is a truly charming place and represents the best that is Mexico.
We have gotten to know the vendors and restaurant staff and understand how they are able to support themselves. The local staff in our favorite restaurant gets paid about $15.50 USD per day (10 hours plus 1-1/2 hours travel) get a breakfast and lunch, but most need to buy their own bus transportation ($2.50 USD per day). Tips are shared, 50% for the waitress, 40% shared with the staff, and 10% for the bartender.
The vendors are well known by us and we often share a cold drink and snack with them. My wife buys their jewelry to sell in her store, and we negotiate with respect. My wife often provides the “bank” for them, providing change as needed for their transactions with others. They often provide us with gifts with the purchases, and we bring gifts for them and their children.
We have embraced a local family, whose daughter was kidnapped, raped, and murdered. Her parents are beach vendors that live in a dirt-floored machine shop without indoor plumbing and have sent all of their daughters to college. One daughter encountered a non-drug cartel related predator on her way home from college that could have happened anywhere. We arranged for an investigator to investigate the case, which he solved on the first day that he was involved. This is a devious way to explain a situation that involves tipping. Her sister is a waitress at a local restaurant on weekends while in college. During Semana Santa (Easter) Mexicans tourists over-run the town, and usually do not tip and the “Gringos” stay away. The investigator wanted to tip the sister, but she would not accept it due to his help. He gave the tip money to a nearby Mexican family to give to her. She ran up to the investigator to show the money that she had received, and was in tears. It is unexpected. She needed the money for a college project.
We tip well 10-20% to those who we know and understand their situation. It is not warping the economy, but provides a gracious way to help and recognize their proficiency.
The minimum wage in Mexico is a farce, and is probably not provided to workers as intended. There is also a well-defined “social security and benefit package for employees” that is mandated in Mexico, but is also not well enforced, but that is another topic.
We embrace the local community and support local projects and families in need. This indigenous community is a truly charming place and represents the best that is Mexico.
We have gotten to know the vendors and restaurant staff and understand how they are able to support themselves. The local staff in our favorite restaurant gets paid about $15.50 USD per day (10 hours plus 1-1/2 hours travel) get a breakfast and lunch, but most need to buy their own bus transportation ($2.50 USD per day). Tips are shared, 50% for the waitress, 40% shared with the staff, and 10% for the bartender.
The vendors are well known by us and we often share a cold drink and snack with them. My wife buys their jewelry to sell in her store, and we negotiate with respect. My wife often provides the “bank” for them, providing change as needed for their transactions with others. They often provide us with gifts with the purchases, and we bring gifts for them and their children.
We have embraced a local family, whose daughter was kidnapped, raped, and murdered. Her parents are beach vendors that live in a dirt-floored machine shop without indoor plumbing and have sent all of their daughters to college. One daughter encountered a non-drug cartel related predator on her way home from college that could have happened anywhere. We arranged for an investigator to investigate the case, which he solved on the first day that he was involved. This is a devious way to explain a situation that involves tipping. Her sister is a waitress at a local restaurant on weekends while in college. During Semana Santa (Easter) Mexicans tourists over-run the town, and usually do not tip and the “Gringos” stay away. The investigator wanted to tip the sister, but she would not accept it due to his help. He gave the tip money to a nearby Mexican family to give to her. She ran up to the investigator to show the money that she had received, and was in tears. It is unexpected. She needed the money for a college project.
We tip well 10-20% to those who we know and understand their situation. It is not warping the economy, but provides a gracious way to help and recognize their proficiency.
The minimum wage in Mexico is a farce, and is probably not provided to workers as intended. There is also a well-defined “social security and benefit package for employees” that is mandated in Mexico, but is also not well enforced, but that is another topic.
