STPS Implements AI to Strengthen Labor Inspections in Mexico

The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (STPS) will use AI to optimize labor inspections in Mexico. It is developing a risk prediction model that will allow it to focus verifications on sectors and industries with the highest probability of non-compliance.

"The goal is to maximize resources and we are now uploading to the Data Intelligence System for Labor Inspection (SIDIL) not only the history of inspections, but also the Registry of Specialized Service Providers or Specialized Works (REPSE), data from the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), and the Tax Administration Service (SAT)," says Alejandro Salafranca Vázquez, head of the Decent Work Unit, STPS, to El Economista. “We want to knock on the right doors and those are the doors of the companies that do not comply.”

The digitalization of inspection processes responds to an effort by the STPS to improve efficiency in the supervision of compliance with labor legislation. During the last six years, the inspection model has undergone several modifications, including the exchange of databases with other public institutions, the implementation of self-compliance programs, and the update of the General Regulations for Labor Inspection and Application of Sanctions.

According to the agency's figures, these changes made it possible to increase the effectiveness of inspections from 55% to 94%, and to reduce by half the number of visits made. Previously, out of every 10 inspection orders issued, only five were successfully completed; today, 9.4 out of every 10 orders are completed.

The SIDIL, originally announced at the end of last year and recently implemented, integrates historical information from 1.5 million federal inspections. Using predictive algorithms, SIDIL analyzes past trends to anticipate potential non-compliance hotspots. Inspections based on the system's recommendations are three times more likely to detect irregularities than inspections organized manually or randomly.

The model makes it possible to focus on specific issues by identifying the sectors, types of companies, and states with the longest history of non-compliance. The STPS reports that inspection should not be seen as an end in itself or as a collection mechanism, but as an instrument to guarantee decent work. In this sense, the next few years will be key to consolidate and perfect the improvements introduced in the inspection model.

However, the STPS faces important challenges in inspection logistics. The federation has exclusive jurisdiction over federal industries, such as the energy, automotive, and mining sectors, while the oversight of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) falls to the states.