The Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) announced on Monday, October 12, 2026 an active listening strategy at 277 Second and Third Level hospitals, where 267,000 workers are employed, and confirmed that the consultation on the 6.8% global salary increase will take place this Wednesday, October 14 at close to 670 voting points, with 476,260 active workers entitled to participate.
The announcement came amid mobilizations by active and retired Institute workers held Monday in Mexico City, which included gatherings outside the IMSS national headquarters on Paseo de la Reforma, at the facilities of the National Union of Social Security Workers (SNTSS) in the Condesa neighborhood, and a blockade of the central lanes of Aquiles Serdán avenue, near Clinic 33, in Azcapotzalco, according to the report from the Traffic Orientation Center of the Mexico City Public Security Secretariat. For the country's millions of beneficiaries, the mechanism directly affects medicine supply and the operation of the hospitals that carry the Institute's heaviest care load.
At a joint press conference with Labor and Social Welfare Secretary Marath Bolaños López, IMSS Director General Zoé Robledo detailed that heads of state representations, their teams and the directors of High Specialty Medical Units will go to the hospitals to collect proposals. The strategy covers eight topics: supply of inputs and dressing material, prescription fulfillment, staffing coverage, medical equipment, furniture, facility maintenance, working conditions and internal organization. Robledo said what is collected must translate into commitments with a date and an owner, and that follow-up on incomplete prescriptions will be handled via recetacompleta.gob.mx and the line 800 953 2218.
Among the union's demands are a direct increase to the base salary, supply of inputs, the removal of SNTSS General Secretary Rafael Olivos Hernández, and the holding of an Extraordinary National Congress, according to the circulated calls. Olivos called for dialogue with representatives of the 37 sections and assured there will be no reprisals against those who take part in the mobilizations. The dissident representation called for a national march this Tuesday, October 13, starting at 15:00 hours from the Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI.
This article was written with the assistance of artificial intelligence from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.
