Mexico finds 63 children working in vegetable packing firm

Source: Associated Press

Mexico finds 63 children working in vegetable packing firm
Updated 6:35 pm, Thursday, August 20, 2015

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Authorities in northern Mexico found 63 children between the ages of 8 and 17 working long hours in miserable conditions at a vegetable packing company, officials said Thursday.

The state government in Coahuila, which borders Texas, said the minors told authorities they had only a half-day off each week and were paid 100 pesos (about $6) a day, slightly higher than the minimum wage of about 70 pesos ($4).

They allegedly were given two meals a day and slept on thin mats on the floor at the property near Ramos Arizpe, about 40 miles (70 kilometers) southwest of the city of Monterrey.

. . .

Prosecutor Yezka Garza told local TV that authorities responded to a complaint from a man who tried to pick up his daughter but was not allowed to take her because she hadn't met her quota. Garza said the children had been working 15-hour days.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/world/article/Mexico-finds-63-children-working-in-vegetable-6456398.php