A majority of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) workers who voted in the Wednesday, October 14, 2026 consultation rejected the proposed 6.8% salary increase, made up of 2.9% to the tabular salary and 3.9% to the rent assistance concept, according to the report by Aristegui Noticias.
The consultation called by the National Union of Social Security Workers (SNTSS) convened just over 474,000 workers from 37 union sections and the Central Module, across 670 voting points. According to El Universal, by 19:00 hours the Federal Center for Conciliation and Labor Registration (CFCRL) reported a preliminary turnout of 282,000 workers, close to 60% of the total eligible to vote, in an exercise that the agency itself described as accompaniment in accordance with labor legislation.
The SNTSS general secretary, Rafael Olivos Hernández, acknowledged the result in the early hours of Thursday and said the leadership respects the base's decision. He explained that the proposal emerged from the negotiation with the Institute and from the resolutions of the SNTSS National Congress, and that it was put to a consultation so that workers could express their will directly. He announced that the union will request to resume the negotiating table with the IMSS to review salary conditions, and that it will later inform the base about progress.
The rejection carried a component of concrete demands. A bloc of dissenting workers called for restarting negotiations to reach an increase of no less than 10% and for convening an Extraordinary National Congress of the union. The representative of IMSS retirees and pensioners, Eduardo Vinicio Martínez González, told El Universal that irregularities were recorded, such as ballots without a serial number and lax measures for verifying union membership status. The SNTSS, for its part, reported delays and minor incidents at six work centers.
The immediate path depends on the negotiating table. The IMSS serves millions of beneficiaries across the country and its workforce operates hospitals and consultation units every day, so the outcome of that negotiation touches the continuity of service. The next signal will be whether the union and the Institute set a date to reconvene the table, and whether the leadership convenes the Congress that the dissidents are demanding.
This article was written with the assistance of artificial intelligence based on verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.
