In a letter addressed to the senators who will serve as coordinators and speakers in the processing of the bill reform of the country’s labor systemdifferent business associations in the surveillance and private security sector of the country exposed different inconveniences of the project, at the same time that they requested to archive the initiative of the National Government in the first debate of this article in Commission VII of this legislative body.
In the letter, they assure that “(…) after an in-depth analysis and considering the very serious effects that this proposal would have on the generation of jobs, formal employment and the economic sustainability of companies in the industry, we clearly request the final file of the project“.
(You can read: Labor reform is now ready for its first debate in the Senate of the Republic).
Among the reasons, they explained that the initiative would vices of unconstitutionalitysince it would be violating the principle of progressiveness of social rights in terms of employment and free enterprise and competition.
“The regulatory project, through its various changes, generates immediate and disproportionate economic burdens on the Colombian business sector, which implies putting at risk not only their financial and structural stability, but also the job stability of those formal jobs that with much effort they have been able to obtain“, they mention in the letter.
Private security
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Union leaders cited employment figures reported by the National Administrative Department of Statistics (Dane) for the month of September of this year, in which the unemployment rate of the national total was 9.1% and they did the same with the figure for that same month, but for 2023, when this rate was 9.3 %.
“This means that the business sector has been building over these years, efficient strategies in order to generate jobs that mitigate the social impact that informality entails in Colombia, since note how we are approaching unemployment figures that do not were evident since 2017“, they add in the letter.
(Besides: Labor reform: the speakers chosen for debate in Commission VII of the Senate).
They assure that, if the reform is approved, workers’ labor rights would be affectedWell, as they mention, “The express application of the regulatory project that is being processed directly contravenes constitutional article 53, which structures the minimum fundamental principles on which individual relationships are sustained in Colombia, which is why principles such as stability in employment, equal opportunities for workers and social security guarantees, are at imminent risk due to situations related and/or derived from the economic context that entails the approval of the regulatory text through which a labor reform is proposed.“.
And they add: “Instead of generating conditions that promote formal employment and dignity at work, the reform being processed, by generating abrupt increases in labor costs, discourages the generation of employment and encourages labor informality, which has been a constant problem. that has been attacked and as evidenced in previous lines, has decreased as a consequence of the economic-business strategies of all productive sectors in the country“.
Private security
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Regarding the freedom of enterprise and free competitionunion leaders assure that the project would be imposing contractual restrictions and additional tax burden, which would limit the operating capacity of companies, especially small and medium.
“This violates article 333 of the Constitution of the Political Constitution of Colombia, which guarantees economic freedom and private initiative, fundamental pillars of national economic development.“, they clarify.
(We recommend: Labor reform would ignore the economic reality and accentuate the deceleration).
Furthermore, they cited the Colombian American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham Colombia)which assured that the proposed changes in surcharges and hours would reduce competitiveness and foreign investment in the country.
“Lower competitiveness can translate into a decrease in the country’s ability to attract investment, limit the creation of formal employment and reduce the growth of strategic productive sectors. With labor productivity of $14.2/hour, significantly below the OECD average of $55.7, these measures could deepen structural challenges, hinder economic recovery and further weaken Colombia’s position in international markets.“, they point out.
Private security
Abel Cárdenas / Portfolio
Effects on the private surveillance sector
The sector unions affirm in the statement that the reform would make The operating costs of this sector would increase by 23% due to night and Sunday surchargeswhich puts the sustainability of more than 800 companies at risk.
In fact, they also mentioned that this change already increased the value of the ordinary hour of work by 14%, by redistributing the minimum wage among a smaller number of hours worked, which increased labor costs.
(You can read: OECD unemployment remained stable at 4.9% during September).
“The labor reform proposes additional adjustments, such as the extension of night hours and the increase in Sunday and holiday surcharges, which, added to the impact of the reduction in working hours, significantly affects the ability of companies to hire workers. This is aggravated if future increases in the minimum wage are considered, which puts both formal employment and the economic sustainability of the sector at risk.“, they said.
About the reduction of working hoursit is worth mentioning that in 2021 Law 2101 was approved, which regulates the progressive reduction of the weekly working day from 48 to 42 hours, a goal that will be achieved in 2026, without affecting the salary of workers.
According to union leaders, “This would not only cause massive layoffs, but would encourage the growth of illegal surveillance, exposing millions of users (businesses, residential buildings and industries) to greater risks of insecurity. For clients, this will translate into an 18.6% increase in the service rate, making it significantly more expensive to hire formal surveillance.“.
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