As you are aware, on May 14th, and May 15th the Federal Government published a new executive order by means of which, among others, included mining, construction, and the manufacturing of transportation equipment to the list of essential activities and well as the guidelines for the “new normalcy”.
On March 18, 2020, the Federal Government issued the Technical Guidelines for the Sanitary Security within the Labor Environment (the “Guidelines”) (it is a 31-page document).
Per the executive order and as stated in the Guidelines, there is a new agency involved: The Mexican Social Security Institute (“IMSS”), who will be in charge of approving, requesting more information or denying the requests made by essential companies to initiate activities under the new normalcy.
These are the highlights of the Guidelines:
- The Guidelines are obligatory for the new essential activities (mining, construction and the manufacturing of transportation equipment), and a guide to the original essential activities and the non-essential activities.
- As of May 18, 2020, all mining, construction, and manufacturers of transportation equipment must file a “Self-evaluation” of the Protocols of Sanitary Security.
- Must complete a Commitment letter that is included in such a process.
- A filing must be done for each plant.
- The IMSS will respond electronically to the requests within 72 hours either approving, requesting more information, or denying the request.
- Inspections during this process by the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare and from the Federal Commission of Sanitary Risks Protections are optional.
- The Guidelines include a description of the recommendations for each guideline.
- The Guidelines establish the following guidelines:
- General Control Strategies.
- Health promotion (7 guidelines).
- Security and Hygiene at the workplace.
- Social Distancing (3 guidelines).
- Inbound outbound controls (6 guidelines).
- Measures for the prevention of contagion (11 guidelines). It includes the following web pages: https://coronavirus.gob.mx and https://climss.imss.gob.mx
- Use of protective equipment (2 guidelines). For example, provide 3 face masks to each employee, preferably, reusable; facial protection such as goggles or protective lenses.
- Plan to Return to the Workplace.
- Planning (5 guidelines).
- Information and training (5 guidelines).
- Preventive measures in the event of a case at the company (5 guidelines).
- Temporary policies (11 guidelines).
- Surveillance and supervision (4 guidelines)
- Measures for the Protection of at-Risk Employees (6 guidelines).
- Classification of at-Risk Employees as a result of their activity or condition.
- Self-evaluation (with some not applicable to small and medium-sized companies).
KEY POINTS
- Companies that were suspended under the sanitary emergency, and that were classified into the new categories of essential activities (mining, construction, and transportation equipment), must prepare their Protocols of Safety Sanitary and follow the Guidelines to obtain the authorization to restart operations.
- Companies with essential activities that were not suspended, should follow these guidelines in order to adapt and adjust their Protocols of Safety Sanitary.
- Companies with non-essential activities should follow these Guidelines in order to prepare their Safety Sanitary Protocols and be aware of any new guidelines that should follow and implement to reopen their activities.
- All companies should be aware of the new Sanitary Alert System and identify the implications and actions that need to be taken, depending on the level of sanitary risk that is declared by the authority in the specific cities.
- The labor and sanitary inspections will be random or/and due to labor complaints and will be performed following the Guidelines.
Alejandro Pedrín | apedrin@tplegal.net
Héctor Torres-López | htorres@tplegal.net
Leobardo Tenorio-Malof | ltenorio@tplegal.net
Mauricio Tortolero | mtortolero@tplegal.net
Daniel Gancz-Kahan | dgancz@tplegal.net
Alejandro Ceballos | aceballos@tplegal.net
Elio Sánchez | ecsanchez@tplegal.net
Iván Curiel-Villaseñor | icuriel@tplegal.net
Raúl Escamilla-Sanromán | rsanroman@tplegal.net
