Workers at Mexico’s Monte de Piedad pawn institution will receive 100% of the wages accrued during their strike, under an agreement signed with management at the federal Labour Ministry on September 30. The union and institution signed a comprehensive ruling drafted by the ministry, ending a workplace dispute over the collective labour contract through a state-supervised settlement.
The union said management had breached the contract. La Jornada reported eight alleged violations, including the sidelining of joint committees responsible for promotions. Workers stopped work on October 1, 2025. Under the agreement, they’ll return to their posts as the institution’s branches reopen.
Workers’ dispute, ministry’s process
The STPS said the parties held more than 70 negotiating meetings after the strike began. The ministry reported progress, but differences remained before the union and management signed its comprehensive ruling at ministry headquarters. Earlier talks stalled, and the ministry called both sides back to negotiations on May 2, 2026.
El CEO reported that more than 30 trilateral meetings had produced no agreement by May. The count tells a plain story: repeated negotiations continued while workers stayed away from their posts and management and the union disputed their contract terms.
A previous strike ended with an agreement in March 2024. El Financiero reported that breaches of that agreement contributed to the new dispute. In February 2026, a judge granted the institution an injunction and declared the strike non-existent, according to El CEO, citing the institution. That ruling didn’t end the conflict. The parties later returned to ministry negotiations and signed the September agreement.
Back pay, reopening, and customer terms
The settlement says workers will receive all wages accrued during the strike. Reports said they’d return as branches reopened, but it remained unclear how quickly the 302 branches could clear the backlog of pledged items. The institution said branches would reopen on Wednesday, October 7.
For customers, reopening brings conditions and a limited period of relief. Starting October 7, clients will receive 45 days without interest charges. The institution will discount interest accumulated during the closure case by case, according to each client’s history.
Customers must book an appointment online and bring an official voter ID card and their ticket number. Branches will open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. Director José Antonio Murillo Garza said the institution’s pledged items remained intact. In a video for staff, he said, “We reopen the doors of the branches with our clients’ pledged items intact.”
Union leader Arturo Zayún González called rebuilding the institution with fresh ideas a “great task.” The STPS said it hoped the sides would reach “lasting” cooperation. The contract dispute, the judge’s injunction, the ministry’s repeated meetings and the eventual settlement remain part of the record. Workers leave with one concrete term: their full retroactive wages.