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The Monitor

Maquila equipped with on-site cafeteria
By Jennifer L. Solis
One of the big misconceptions about maquiladoras (maquilas) is that they are warehouses filled with hundreds of employees working in terrible conditions.
But, all U.S. maquilas are air-conditioned, include on-site health facilities and on-site cafeterias. One maquila that offers this "package" is Am-Mex Products, Inc., in Reynosa. Am-Mex manufactures products for other companies by using that company's equipment and raw materials. It provides the Mexican infrastructure, the buildings, the people and the technology to manufacture products.
"It is now a common practice in the maquila industry to provide an on-site cafeteria or some sort of food service for employees," said Don King, president of Am-Mex Products, Inc.
Each of the five Am-Mex plants has industrial nursing services for employees, with registered nurses on duty for each shift. With 2,300 employees, it's no wonder each plant also has its own cafeteria.
As part of the employee benefits package, Am-Mex employees are provided a meal during their 30-minute unpaid lunch break. There is a small fee for lunch which is deducted from their pay check.
"Unfortunately, it's more of a tax issue. If we could provide it for free, we would. However, if we did that, then it gets integrated with Social Security and we have to pay the tax on it, so then employees would be paying for part of it  as well. This way, it's non-taxed," King said. For 50 cents or half a peso, employees are served a nutritious meal.
Several years ago, maquila employees did not have the luxury of a nice, clean, air-conditioned, place where they could take a break and eat a nutritious meal. Many break areas were outside and consisted of a grill and a table.
 "I think that the real focus of providing a good meal and an area where the employee could eat was to avoid having health problems with employees that were malnourished. By providing a nutritious meal, the problem was solved," King said.
"Our pay system here consists of relatively low salaries, but our benefits are very high,"he  said. "In fact, our benefit cost is about 130 percent of our salary cost, so we put alot of emphasis on benefits."
Another reason for the on-site cafeterias may be competitiveness between plants to retain people.
"When the employees work for a Mexican national company, they don't normally get this benefit. It's a major benefit for them because they know that when they come to work for a maquila, they are going to get a good meal," King said.
Having a cafeteria plays a big role in keeping employees with a company.
"We make sure employees receive a good nutritious quality meal so that they won't want to leave, but instead want to stay," said King.
"From an investment standpoint, it is a big investment for the maquilas because of the infrastructure that is needed to support it," King said. "The cost of the meals is our largest cost, as far as a benefit to the maquilas. I personally feel that it's the biggest cost benefit, but it's one of the largest that we get a return on." 
Having an on-site cafeteria is one way for the maquila industry to give back to the workers instead of giving them money or compensatory benefits that are taxed.
Employees can also buy breakfast, if they like.
"They can buy it very inexpensively," said Ignacio Ortiz, Am-Mex administrative director. "We don't pay for it, but basically we subsidize it, because we pay for the infrastructure and so forth to provide that."
"Each Am-Mex cafeteria is well-maintained and has a comfortable environment. During each shift, about 2,000 lunches are served," Ortiz said.
Cafeteria inspections on the quality of food and cafeteria maintenance are held on a regular basis.
Employees can choose what food will be served.
"The employees choose a liaison to represent them, and every Friday we review the menus that we are going to serve for the following week," Ortiz said.
The menus are displayed so that employees can bring their lunch if they don't like what will be served. "At times, some employees do bring their own lunch. However, it's a very small percentage of people who do," Ortiz said.
If by chance a shift runs overtime, the workers are given a free snack so they don't go a long period of time without eating.
"So if you ask an employee to look at their benefit package and ask them what's the most important to them, most would say the food service and the lunch. I know we get a lot of input from the workers about that," King said.