Agricultural Field Worker Contract Mexico (Contrato de Trabajadores del Campo)

An Agricultural Field Worker Contract Mexico (Contrato de Trabajadores del Campo) is a formal written employment agreement between a patrón del campo (agricultural employer) and a trabajador del campo (agricultural field worker) — also known as a jornalero agrícola — establishing the terms and conditions of agricultural labour in Mexico, governed by the special provisions of Articles 279 through 284 of the Ley Federal del Trabajo (LFT) published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación on 1 April 1970. Articles 279–284 LFT constitute a specialized chapter within the general employment law framework, recognizing that agricultural work — with its physical demands, remote locations, seasonal patterns, and historically vulnerable workforce — requires specific protections beyond those applicable to office and industrial employment.

Article 279 LFT defines trabajadores del campo as those who perform agricultural, livestock, forestry (silvícola), or any other activity related to the primary sector of the economy. This definition encompasses a broad range of workers: harvest labourers (jornaleros de cosecha) who pick fruit, vegetables, and crops; irrigation technicians (técnicos de riego) who operate and maintain irrigation systems; tractor operators and machinery operators in mechanized agriculture; livestock workers (peones ganaderos) in cattle, pig, poultry, and dairy farming; forestry workers (trabajadores forestales) in timber and resin extraction; and aquaculture workers in shrimp farming and fish production facilities. The statutory protections of Articles 279–284 LFT apply to all of these worker categories.

The scope of the agricultural worker regime under Articles 279–284 LFT intersects with the seasonal employment provisions of Article 39 LFT and the general employment contract provisions of Articles 24 and 25 LFT. Most agricultural employment in Mexico takes the form of seasonal work (trabajo de temporada) — harvest campaigns that last weeks or months before the worker moves on to the next crop or location — and the agricultural worker contract is typically structured as a seasonal employment contract incorporating the Article 279–284 LFT special protections. Permanent agricultural employment — workers employed year-round in livestock management, greenhouse operations, or agricultural administration — uses the indefinite employment contract form under Article 35 LFT combined with the Article 279–284 LFT provisions applicable to field workers.

The constitutional framework for agricultural employment rests in Article 123 of the Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos of 5 February 1917 and, for land-related matters, in Article 27, which establishes the ejido system and the Ley Agraria (published in the DOF on 26 February 1992) governing communal agricultural land. Agricultural employers include private agribusiness companies (empresas agroindustriales), ejidos and their productive units, agricultural associations (asociaciones agrícolas under the Ley de Asociaciones Agrícolas), and individual landowners (pequeños propietarios). The legal form of the employing entity determines how IMSS and INFONAVIT contributions are calculated and remitted.

The Mexican agricultural sector employs an estimated 7 to 8 million workers — approximately 13% of the national workforce — concentrated in the states of Sinaloa, Sonora, Baja California, Jalisco, Michoacán, Veracruz, and Oaxaca. A significant portion of this workforce consists of internal migrants — jornaleros who travel from impoverished states including Oaxaca, Guerrero, Hidalgo, and Chiapas to crop-producing regions in the north and northwest. The STPS Programa de Atención a Jornaleros Agrícolas (PAJA) coordinates social services — health, education, housing, food, and legal assistance — for this population. The Procuraduría de la Defensa del Trabajo (PROFEDET) provides free legal representation to jornaleros in labour disputes before the Centro Federal de Conciliación y Registro Laboral (CFCRL) and the Tribunales Laborales.

All employers of agricultural workers must register them with the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) before work begins under Article 15 of the Ley del Seguro Social (LSS) published in the DOF on 21 December 1995. The IMSS Agricultural Insurance (Seguro de Salud para la Familia del Campo and the standard LSS coverage) applies to agricultural workers. Employer IMSS contributions are calculated on the Salario Diario Integrado (SDI) under Article 84 LFT and remitted bimonthly through the Sistema Único de Autodeterminación (SUA). The employer must also contribute 5% of the SDI to the worker's INFONAVIT housing fund under Article 29 of the Ley del INFONAVIT, and withhold Impuesto sobre la Renta (ISR) under Articles 94 and 96 of the Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta (LISR). NOM-003-STPS-1999 (Agricultural activities — pesticide use) and NOM-007-STPS-2000 (Agricultural activities — health and safety) impose specific occupational safety obligations on agricultural employers.

Mexico's major agricultural export markets — particularly the United States — impose social compliance requirements through trade agreements and retailer codes of conduct. The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA/T-MEC), signed on 30 November 2018 and in force from 1 July 2020, includes Annex 23-A (Facility-Specific Annex on Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining in Mexico) and Chapter 23 (Labor), which require Mexico to effectively enforce its labour laws including agricultural worker protections. The 2019 reforma laboral (Decreto published in the DOF on 1 May 2019) was driven in part by USMCA compliance requirements and significantly strengthened enforcement mechanisms through the creation of the CFCRL and the Tribunales Laborales.

An Agricultural Field Worker Contract Mexico under Articles 279 through 284 of the Ley Federal del Trabajo is needed in every situation where a Mexican agricultural employer engages a worker to perform primary sector activities — crop cultivation, harvesting, livestock management, forestry, or aquaculture — regardless of whether the engagement is permanent, seasonal, or temporary.

The contract is required for all harvest-season employers in Mexico's major agricultural export sectors. Sinaloa's tomato (jitomate), pepper (chile), and cucumber (pepino) harvest campaigns employ tens of thousands of seasonal workers from October through April. Michoacán's avocado (aguacate) harvest — Mexico is the world's largest avocado exporter — runs nearly year-round but peaks between October and February. Baja California's strawberry (fresa), blueberry (arándano), and grape (uva de mesa) harvests employ large numbers of internal migrants, many from indigenous communities in Oaxaca and Guerrero. The STPS Inspección del Trabajo intensively monitors these states and demands written employment contracts for all harvest workers.

The document is required when a large agribusiness company (empresa agroindustrial) — such as Del Monte, Driscoll's, Bachoco, Lala, or Grupo Herdez — engages field workers through direct employment. These companies are subject to social compliance audits by international buyers and retailers under standards including the Global G.A.P., SMETA (Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit), and the Fair Food Program, all of which require formal written employment contracts for all workers.

Ejidos and agricultural associations that engage workers beyond their member population must also execute written agricultural worker contracts. Under the Ley Agraria, ejido members who perform work for the ejido collective enterprise are not employees in the traditional sense, but workers hired by the ejido to perform agricultural labour for a wage are employees subject to the LFT and must have written contracts.

The contract is needed when employers transport workers from their home communities to remote agricultural work sites — a common practice in Mexico's internal agricultural migration. Article 283 LFT requires employers who recruit workers from outside the immediate locality of the work site to provide or pay for transportation, housing (habitación), potable water, and access to food at the work site. The written contract must document these obligations so that workers have a legal record of what the employer has committed to provide.

Foreign agricultural enterprises operating in Mexico under joint ventures, maquiladora arrangements, or direct investment — particularly in the berry export sector in Baja California and Sonora — must execute Mexican LFT-compliant employment contracts for all Mexican workers regardless of the employer's foreign ownership or management structure. The LFT applies to all employment relationships performed in Mexican territory under Article 1 LFT, irrespective of the employer's nationality.

Under the STPS Programa de Atención a Jornaleros Agrícolas (PAJA), employers who participate in the program and receive government-supported social infrastructure benefits (school facilities, health clinics, childcare centers at the work site) must provide written employment contracts to all workers as a condition of program participation. PROFEDET inspections under this program routinely check contract documentation quality and IMSS registration status.

The contract must be in writing and physically provided to the worker before the first day of work. Under Article 784 LFT, the employer bears the burden of proof in any labour dispute — an employer who cannot produce a signed written contract for an agricultural worker is presumed to have agreed to the most favorable conditions the worker claims. In agricultural contexts where workers are frequently illiterate or speak indigenous languages rather than Spanish, employers should ensure contracts are explained orally in the worker's language and that the worker's thumbprint (huella dactilar) or mark is accepted in lieu of a signature where necessary.

A valid Agricultural Field Worker Contract Mexico under the Ley Federal del Trabajo must satisfy Articles 24, 25, and 279–284 LFT. The agricultural-specific elements — housing, water, food access, medical services, and transportation — are mandatory additions beyond the standard employment contract requirements.

Identification of Parties: Full legal name, RFC (Registro Federal de Contribuyentes assigned by the SAT), CURP (Clave Única de Registro de Población), NSS (Número de Seguridad Social), official identity document number or CURP where no formal ID is held, and home address of both the patrón del campo and the trabajador del campo. For indigenous workers (trabajadores indígenas), Article 2 of the Constitución Política recognizes the right to use their language in legal proceedings — contracts should identify the worker's indigenous community and language where applicable, and PROFEDET can provide translation services.

Agricultural Activity Description: The specific agricultural activity — the crop, livestock species, forestry operation, or aquaculture activity — the worker will perform, with the location of the agricultural unit (rancho, ejido, parcela, unidad de producción) identified by address and, where applicable, by the INEGI cadastral reference. Under Article 279 LFT, the description must confirm the work falls within the primary sector definition.

Work Location and Camp Facilities: The physical address of the agricultural work site and, where workers will be housed at or near the site, the location and description of the housing (habitación) to be provided under Article 283 LFT. Housing must meet minimum hygiene and habitability standards — the STPS Inspección del Trabajo evaluates camp conditions against NOM-007-STPS-2000 and Article 283 LFT requirements.

Housing Obligation (Article 283 LFT): Where workers are recruited from outside the immediate locality and must reside at or near the work site, the employer's obligation to provide habitable housing (habitación higiénica) at no charge to the worker. The contract must describe the housing to be provided — dormitory-style housing, family units, or other arrangements — and the applicable occupancy conditions.

Potable Water Obligation (Article 283 LFT): The employer's obligation to provide access to potable water (agua potable) at the work site and at the housing facility. The contract should specify the water provision mechanism — piped water, purified water dispensers, or other approved source.

Food Access Obligation (Article 283 LFT): Where the agricultural work site is remote and workers cannot access food independently, the employer's obligation to provide or arrange access to food (alimentación) — either through a company canteen (comedor), food vouchers, or a contracted food service. The cost of food may be deducted from wages only with the worker's written consent and within the limits of Article 110 LFT.

Medical Services (Article 283 LFT): The employer's obligation to ensure access to medical services for agricultural workers, including first aid at the work site and transportation to the nearest IMSS clinic or private medical facility in the event of illness or occupational injury. Where the work site has more than 100 workers in a remote location, the STPS may require an on-site health post.

Elementary Education (Article 283 LFT): Where more than 20 school-age children of agricultural workers reside at the work site, the employer must provide elementary school facilities or coordinate with the Secretaría de Educación Pública (SEP) for mobile education services.

Transportation (Article 283 LFT): Where workers are recruited from distant communities, the employer's obligation to provide or pay for transportation from the worker's home community to the work site at the start of the engagement and return transportation at the end.

Salary and Integrated Daily Wage: The daily base salary and SDI under Article 84 LFT. CONASAMI publishes sector-specific minimum wages for specific agricultural trades — albañil del campo, tractorista, irrigador, and others — that may exceed the general minimum wage. Piece-rate (trabajo a destajo under Article 83 LFT) must be set at a level that allows average-skill workers to earn at least the applicable minimum. The SDI must exclude non-salary benefits (housing, food, water) that are compensatory rather than wage.

Occupational Safety and Pesticide Compliance: Reference to NOM-003-STPS-1999 (Agricultural activities — use of pesticides) and NOM-007-STPS-2000 (Agricultural activities — health and safety). The employer's obligations to: provide personal protective equipment (EPP) — gloves, goggles, respirators, protective clothing — for workers handling pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers; conduct safety training before first pesticide exposure; maintain safety data sheets (hojas de seguridad) for all chemicals used; and establish re-entry intervals (períodos de reingreso) for treated fields. IMSS riesgos de trabajo Class IV or V applies to many agricultural operations.

Mandatory Benefits: All minimum benefits under Article 123 of the Constitución Política — aguinaldo (Article 87 LFT), vacaciones and prima vacacional (Articles 76–80 LFT, proportional for seasonal workers), PTU (Articles 117–131 LFT), IMSS coverage (Ley del Seguro Social Article 15), and INFONAVIT contributions (Ley del INFONAVIT Article 29).

Governing Law and Dispute Resolution: The contract is governed by the Ley Federal del Trabajo, Articles 279–284. Disputes must pass through mandatory conciliation at the Centro Federal de Conciliación y Registro Laboral (CFCRL) — PROFEDET provides free representation to jornaleros — before proceeding to the competent Tribunal Laboral under the 2019 reforma laboral.

Forms-legal.com provides this Agricultural Field Worker Contract Mexico template as a practical starting point. Agricultural employers in export sectors subject to USMCA, Global G.A.P., or SMETA audits should have their contracts reviewed by a Licenciado en Derecho with agricultural labour expertise to confirm full compliance with Articles 279–284 LFT and applicable NOMs.