Cancun, Mexico, Oct 15 — Mexico has signed a memorandum of understanding with El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras that lays the groundwork for a joint plan to support migrant workers, Mexico’s Labor and Social Welfare Secretariat said.

Under the Temporary Migrant Labor Program, workers from the three Central American countries will be authorized to work in Mexico for a period of up to 180 days in agriculture and service sector jobs during periods of high demand, the secretariat said in a statement.

The program will also allow highly qualified Mexicans to work temporarily in these three northern Central American nations.

Mexican Labor Secretary Alfonso Navarrete Prida, Salvadoran Labor Minister Sandra Edibel Guevara, Honduran Labor Secretary Carlos Erazo Madero, and Guatemalan Social Welfare and Employment Deputy Minister Mina Griselda Gonzalez signed the document.

Organization of American States Secretary-General Luis Almagro and the governor of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, Carlos Joaquin Gonzalez, were guests of honor at Friday’s signing ceremony.

Navarrete acknowledged that the countries needed to pursue a regional solution to the labor migration phenomenon and said the MOU was a message aimed at determining the mechanisms needed to tackle the issue.

The program will begin with a six-month pilot period, during which up to 1,000 workers per country will be permitted to enter Mexico.

The OAS secretary-general called on signatory countries to expand the benefits of the MOU signed in Cancun to the rest of Central America and the hemisphere.

The document is a milestone in relations among the four countries in the labor and immigration areas, Almagro said.

He pledged that the OAS would continue to support initiatives that address the immigration problem in origin, transit and destination countries.

The countries have recognized the importance of fostering inclusive labor markets and promoting the protection of migrants’ human and labor rights, irrespective of their migration status, he said. EFE