The initiative seeks to ensure that companies integrate at least 10% of their workforce with ethnic workers. In exchange, companies that obtain this certification will receive incentives to contract with the State.
News Colombia.
In a significant step towards the labour inclusion of ethnic communities in Colombia, a bill creating the Certificate of Corporate Ethnic Responsibility has been presented to the Senate.
This certificate, granted by the Ministry of Labor, will be a tool that will encourage the hiring of indigenous, black, Afro-Colombian, Raizal, Palenquera, Rom or Gypsy populations, in the management, supervision and operation levels of companies.
Objective of the measure
The initiative seeks to ensure that companies integrate at least 10% of ethnic workers into their workforce.
In exchange, companies that obtain this certificate will receive incentives to contract with the State, such as additional points in the contractual selection processes, which will give them a competitive advantage.
The Ministry of Labor will be responsible for defining the criteria and procedures for obtaining this certificate.
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Likewise, the Ministry of Finance, the National Planning Department and the Ministry of Labor will work together to establish the additional scoring process in the contractor selection processes.
Positive impact without affecting ethnic autonomy
The legal analysis of the project concluded that it does not interfere with the rights or autonomy of ethnic communities.
The project does not regulate the use of rural lands nor affect the natural resources of communities, which guarantees that it does not violate the self-determination or cultural attributes of the peoples involved.
Furthermore, it was determined that the initiative does not require prior consultation, since it does not impose situations that directly compromise the ethnic rights recognized in ILO Convention 169.
Final considerations
The bill is an affirmative action for the labor inclusion of ethnic communities, historically marginalized in the country.
It is hoped that through debate in Congress, this measure will receive the necessary attention to promote labor justice and the recognition of the contribution of ethnic communities to the economic development of Colombia.
The Certificate of Corporate Ethnic Responsibility represents a step towards fulfilling the constitutional right to decent and fair work, and responds to the need to avoid any type of discrimination in access to employment and remuneration for Afro-Colombian, black, Raizal and Palenquera communities.
A necessary step
The project has already been approved in the First and Second Debate, in addition to its publication of the Third Debate Report – Gazette: 782/24, 1292/24.
The extent It not only seeks to promote labor inclusion, but also to strengthen the social and economic fabric of the country by integrating ethnic communities into the productive sector, thus contributing to the reduction of inequality and the construction of a more just and equitable society.
