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l work, understood In philosophical terms, as the set of activities dedicated to transforming nature to satisfy human needs, it is not an inert reality. It has undergone profound transformations throughout history. In recent decades, with the development of information technologies, this changing condition of work has become particularly evident. Not only have previously non-existent occupations emerged, but also new work dynamics. This is clearly observed in increasingly widespread phenomena, such as work on digital platforms, which includes both drivers and delivery people.
On instructions from President Claudia Sheinbaum, the Ministry of Labor has the task of ensuring that there is decent work for all Mexicans, while promoting and protecting the country’s economic dynamism. Therefore, with regard to work on digital platforms, we sought to preserve its flexibility, but guaranteeing that those who make a living from this work have social security, clear rules and protection against risks and arbitrariness.
The Reform of Work on Digital Platforms is innovative not only because it recognizes and addresses a new labor reality arising from technological development, but also because it is a public policy that is born from a process of analysis of the existing reality and dialogue with workers and companies. In other words: it is a reform built in a dialogic way, based on the active participation of the different actors involved.
In the first instance, the reform distinguishes that there are different ways of working on digital platforms. There is a first group of people registered on platforms, made up of those who, at some point, have had an active account or a valid registration. This universe does not automatically equate to people with continuous work or regular income. There is a second group of people with sporadic participation, made up of those who connect occasionally, make few trips or deliveries, or use the platform as a complementary income activity. There is a third group of active people each month, made up of those who actually made trips or deliveries for a period of at least 15 hours in a given period. And there is a fourth group of people for whom this work is their main source of income, made up of those who generate income equivalent to or greater than a monthly minimum wage through the platform.
The reform considers everyone. For people in the first, second and third groups, the reform guarantees protection against work risks during the time actually worked, even if they do not reach the monthly income threshold. For people in the fourth group, the reform now offers complete social security (IMSS, Infonavit, work risks, pension, daycare). In this way, the reform protects those who depend on this job to live, without excluding or unprotecting those who participate occasionally.
The Reform of Work on Digital Platforms, established as a commitment of the second floor of the Transformation by President Claudia Sheinbaum, is already a palpable reality that benefits hundreds of thousands of Mexican men and women. From July to December 2025, a pilot program was successfully carried out that managed to accumulate an average of 912,625 jobs per month. Some data allow us to gauge the depth of the labor transformation that is happening. The number of workers who generated at least one minimum wage grew month after month: 132,841 in July, 133,178 in August, 125,757 in September, 150,123 in October, 164,205 in November and 206,521 in December. Between October, November and December, 77 percent of the people who exceeded the net income equivalent to the minimum wage were the same, which confirms that the reform managed to stably identify the core of people for whom this work represents their main income. At the end of December 2025, the average contribution base salary was 392.42 pesos per day, a level 41 percent higher than the minimum wage.
And something fundamental: with the information available, there is no significant negative impact on employment on digital platforms after the implementation of the reform. But, above all, these figures allow us to announce with enormous enthusiasm historic news: the Reform of Work on Digital Platforms constitutes the largest exercise in the formalization of employment in Mexico on record. We are building the foundations of decent work in the 21st century.
* Secretary of Labor and Social Welfare (X: @marathb)
