Having achieved a landmark agreement earlier in June that ended months' worth of strikes by farmworkers in the Mexican state of Baja California, the focus is now turned to boosting the minimum price for boxes of fruit. 

Thousands of laborers in the area of San Quintin, some 200 miles south of San Diego, had been protesting over the daily wage of 100 pesos (US$6.50) many earned and the lack of other benefits such as social security.

After a series of intense negotiations with agribusiness and even the Federal Government, an agreement was reached on June 4 promising substantial daily wage increases depending on the size of the farm along with the government required benefits.

The deal is reportedly considered to be highly significant in Mexican farmworker history, given how rarely such comprehensive deals occur.

The LA Times quoted Sara Lara, a farm labor researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, as saying this was a 'watershed moment', as she had reportedly never seen agribusiness cave to labor demands in decades of studying.

Fidel Sanchez, the spokesperson for the National Alliance of Organizations for Social Justice in the San Quintin and a key actor in the movement, said he was delighted with the deal, despite not reaching original demands of 200 pesos (US$13) a day.

"It's a great achievement. On June 4 we finally agreed upon a pay increase in three different categories. Category A [for the biggest farms] is 180 pesos, category B is 165 pesos and category C 150 pesos," Sanchez told www.freshfruitportal.com.

"In addition, workers will receive an end-of-year bonus which will be worth two weeks' wages, and under the agreement must be paid before December 20 of every year."

Sanchez also said work was currently underway to provide all workers with Social Security benefits, which would mean they don't have problems being attended to by doctors.

While there had been suggestions a few weeks ago that the Federal Government was considering subsidizing the wage increase, Sanchez said it had later stated it did not have sufficient resources to do so.

However, the government will be providing 50 million pesos (US$3.2 million) every six months for three years to be used on infrastructural projects to benefit local communities where the San Quintin farmworkers live, according to Sanchez.

An executive of BerryMex – one of U.S.-based multinational Driscoll’s main suppliers in the area - said although his company was not affected by the wage agreement as it already paid its workers substantially higher than the minimum, it was his understanding the regional producers would bear all of the costs associated with the increase.

Chief operating officer Hector Lujan also praised the deal for securing government investment in infrastructure for the area and for ensuring all farmworkers would receive Social Security credentials.

"I think it's important that everyone works together for the well-being of the area, and that we as producers are attentive to our workers and their needs," he said.

While the wage rise would be benefit to around half of San Quintin's 30,000 farmworkers who work on a daily rate, Sanchez said focus was now being turned to improving the minimum price for goods produced in the region, which would benefit the other workers who are contracted.

"We want to establish a minimum price for every product that is grown in the region of San Quintin. These products are almost all exported, with the majority sent to the U.S. If the producers receive a good price for every box of fruit then the workers deserve to receive fair payment too," he said.

"We want to establish a minimum prices for a box of strawberries, a box of blackberries, blueberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, so we still have that left to do, but we are getting there step by step."

Over recent months the agricultural companies had increased the prices somewhat, Sanchez said, but negotiations would begin in July where proposals would be presented to boost them further.

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