This Wednesday, the majority paper was filed for the first debate on labor reform in Colombia.
One of the great changes made in the project as compared to the document submitted by the government is found in the adjustment of night shift.
Undoubtedly, this has been one of the points that has generated the greatest controversy and criticism from some economic associations.
The original idea was that the day shift would be scheduled from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Thus, in the presentation of the first labor reform it was as follows:
– Time of day: 6 am to 7 pm
– Night: 7 PM to 6 AM
Noting this, Labor Minister Gloria Ines Ramirez pointed out that this is an important progress in the agreement of the project.
“It is an element of the agreement that is meaningful and should be read as of importance to Colombia in the negotiations, but it also leads to the reflection that this reform has to generate balance not only for traders who are already are enjoying but also for the affected workers,” he said.
Sunday and Holiday Surcharge
Another point that has also been revised in the presentation for the first debate on labor reform is the change in Sunday and holiday surcharges.
The idea from the outset is to increase this to 100% from the current 75%, so that hours worked on Sundays and holidays are paid as regular hours.
This measure is still in force in the labor reform, but will now be implemented progressively with the approval of the articles by 2026.
It also arose from agreements between the government, Congress and the production unions in Colombia.
On the other hand, the Ministry of Labor informed that there will be no immediate message of labor reforms and it will have four general debates.
These changes will result in labor reform. Photo: Valora Analytic.
That is, it will go through the Seventh Committee of the Senate and the Chamber, and later through full sessions of each of these.
Of course, he left the door open for discussion of the articles, even after the regular session of Congress was over.
In turn, the Chamber’s representative, María Fernanda Carrascal, announced that of the 82 articles presented, 46 were fully agreed upon and 36 were open to debate.
“Two of the 79 that the original project brought in were eliminated and eight were added to the total,” Carrascal said.
What do unions have to say about the labor reform paper?
On the other hand, some unions such as Fenalco spoke before the presentation of the said paper and pointed to it as an inconvenient reform.
“It maintains the same structural problems of the presented project, which is non-focused on job creation and reducing informality,” said Jaime Alberto Cabal, president of the merchants’ association.
And he added: “On the contrary, it has high labor costs, deepens collective rights, improves conditions of current workers, but it ignores the reality of 16 million employees and informal workers in Colombia.”
Meanwhile, he stressed that, if the labor reform is approved, many MiPIMs would go bankrupt or close down, he also stressed that many labor costs would be passed on to the end consumer, creating shortages. Will be
In turn, Acopi, which is the Colombian Federation of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, noted that some of its proposals have been included to reduce the impact on the sector, among these are:
- have a gradual paternity leave
- Three years’ gradualism for implementation of overtime.
- Change the employment contract to a fixed-term one, which is allowed up to three years.
- He drove away the timelessness of indefinite
However, he pointed out the concerns that the article still raises
“We are very concerned about the negotiation by the branch and in this submission we find the possibility of excluding, releasing or disbursing financial assistance to MSMEs which shows that they do not have the economic capacity to adhere to the minimum agreed upon by the unions Be able to do that with the big companies” said Rosemary Quintero, president of Acopi Nacional.
On the other hand, he also highlighted the gradual increase in compensation and payment on Sundays and holidays.
