Femsa’s José Antonio Fernández urges IP to provide decent wages

Monterrey, NL.José Antonio Fernández Carbajal, director and president of the board of directors of Fomento Económico Mexicano (Femsa), urged employers to review the salaries of their workers so that no family is below the poverty line and does not depend on social programs.

“From the private sector, we must review our payrolls to ensure that no employee is below the poverty line and that they have enough for the basic, poor basket that does not depend on social programs, which although they have had some important impact, without formal employment will always be insufficient,” said the businessman when participating in the presentation of the Eugenio Garza Sada Award for Humanist Leadership.

The businessman, who is known for making very few public appearances, urged people to recognise the enormous value of workers in companies as a matter of humanity and justice.

“I am convinced that democracy and conscious capitalism go hand in hand to achieve the shared prosperity that society requires. This school of thought can help us find specific solutions for Mexico,” said the president of Femsa, the controlling company of Oxxo, Valora and Coca-Cola, among other firms.

“We are convinced that conscious capitalism is the best way to face the great challenges and enormous opportunities that we have, especially in this era of extraordinary changes that are happening at an astonishing speed.”

He stressed that the institutional path must be based on permanent investment in education and health and in job creation.

He said that with the participation of large, conscious companies, it is possible to address the great challenge of climate change caused by the excessive use of fossil fuels.

“Sustainability, ethics and social responsibility are pillars for facing environmental challenges. We have to move faster, especially as energy demand is growing in Mexico and around the world,” he said.

The businessman said that Mexico must be made “a democratic country, with a balance of powers, with legal certainty and with security.”