At the start of 2016, factories in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico’s major jobs generator, still have 22,000 positions to fill. For the very first time the low pay on offer is discouraging people from applying for jobs. Maquiladoras who typically produce for export to the United States are known for low cost employment. Since the redundancy in December 2015 of ninety workers who had been calling for an extra 6 pesos (€0.30) a day, a movement demanding an overall improvement in Maquiladoras workers’ rights is trying to change the current social model.
The factories that have set up in Ciudad Juárez, in northern Mexico’s free trade zone are facing growing problems to attract workers. There is a surplus of positions vacant for the number of applicants. Between January 2015 and October 2015 more than 37,000 jobs have been created, primarily in electronics and auto-parts factories.
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