In compliance with the notices published on May 14 and 15, 2020, with the Department of Health, in coordination with the Department of Labor and Social Welfare, the Department of Economy as well as with the Mexican Social Security Institute, the Government of Mexico published the Technical Guidelines for Health Safety in the Labor Environment.
A series of actions for the orderly, gradual and cautions reopening are established, with the objective of continuing the care of people’s health and, at the same time, reactivating the Mexican economy. As of May 18, compliance with these guidelines is mandatory for all companies considered to be essential, whether they have remained open or they intend to open from June 1st on; these measures will also apply to non-essential companies which can open in the following months, in compliance with the criteria of the COVID-19 Traffic Light.
A process consisting of three phases was defined in order to reach this New Normality.
Phase one. This phase starts on May 18 and includes the so-called Municipalities of Hope, which have no reported SASR-CoV-2 contagions and have no neighboring municipalities with contagions. All work activity will be opened in these localities.
Phase two. This phase covers from May 18 to May 31 and consists on a preparation for reopening. In this phase, companies or industries that perform activities considered to be essential must adopt and validate their protocols on the page www.gob.mx/nuevanormalidad, with a maximum response time of 72 hours. In the case of companies in the fields of construction, mining and transportation equipment manufacturing, considered to be essential, if they complete the process before the 1st of June, they may start operations in accordance with the notice issued by the Department of Health published in the Official Gazette of May 15.
Phase three. The socio-economic opening phase will begin on June 1st, 2020, through a progressive system that will determine the level of the health alert and will define the types of activities that are authorized to be conducted in the economic, labor, schooling and social spheres.
The Guidelines published by the Government of Mexico are “voluntary”; nevertheless, failure to comply with them entails different penalizations which include fines, as well as the very serious penalization of the closure of the establishment or company. Compliance with these provisions will be validated through Labor inspection and/or Cofepris [Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risk].
RECOMMENDATIONS
This Firm recommends the preparation of the necessary policies, in line with the Guidelines published by the Government of Mexico, or the review of the policies already in place and ensuring their compliance as well as following up on self-evaluation processes and the response by the authority in regard to the authorization for the start of activities. It is also advisable to verify whether any of the workers belong to the group defined as vulnerable population, with the objective of providing them with the necessary support. We remain truly yours for any questions.
