Baja farmworkers reject wage offer

MEXICO CITY -- Export-oriented commercial farms in Mexico's Baja California state say they have offered farm workers a 15 percent wage increase to end a 2-week-old strike.

But leaders of the farmworkers called the offer unacceptable and said they want assured benefits, higher wages and an end to abuses.

The strike by an estimated 50,000 farmworkers featured intermittent blockages of the main north-south highway in Baja, confrontations with police and the arrest of dozens of strike supporters.

The Baja California state government said that thousands of workers returned to the berry and vegetable fields and that production had resumed on 85 percent to 90 percent of farm acreage.

But strike activist Fermin Salazar said Monday that the work stoppage continued and that the 15 percent offer "was not accepted."

Workers were demanding a $19.70-per-day minimum wage, but Salazar said they lowered that demand to $13.10 per day, or piece-work pay of $1.30 for each crate of strawberries they pick. At present, many farmworkers around the town of San Quintin often make less than $8 per day picking fruit and vegetables.

The San Quintin valley and surrounding areas are home to 21,000 acres of farms growing tomatoes, strawberries, cucumbers, onions and raspberries, among other crops, almost all for export.

Salazar acknowledged that many workers had returned to the fields but said they had not given up.

"Yes, thousands of workers have returned, but they are working under protest," Salazar said. "They are waiting ... they are ready for when we make the call."

Business on 03/31/2015

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