Approval and positivism in the face of the 16% increase in the minimum wage

The Salary Agreement Table, made up of the National Government, unions and guilds, reached an agreement for the increase in the minimum wage in Colombia by 2023.

The increase achieved was 16%, so the salary was 1,160,000 pesos. Plus the transportation aid, which was 140,606 (20% increase), the total amount to be paid will be 1,300,606 pesos.

When the increase was made official, by President Gustavo Petro, one of the first to react was Bruce MacMaster, the president of the National Association of Industrialists (Andi).

Mac Master thanked the Board for having accepted the methodology proposed by the unions of not putting us at risk ‘pull up and down’ ,otherwise “sit down to build together, to see all the variables, to listen to the Ministry of Finance, the representatives of the unions, Planning and the Bank of the Republic, and thus achieve agreement“.

In his opinion, “For Colombia, which has experienced so many polarizations, it is important to somehow see the different sectors of the economy and society that can agree on such important issues. So yes, we are very satisfied and we feel really happy to have been part of this negotiation and to propose a methodology that was accepted by the Government and also accepted by the workers’ representatives.“.

The union leader said that take inflation into account for people in the lower strata and such a high CPI for food was a proposal that emerged and that businessmen took into account and analyzed: “We are happy with the agreement”.

From the National Federation of Merchants (Fenalco) They said that achieving an increase in the agreed minimum is good news for the country.

“The agreed figure of 16% and the increase in transportation assistance of 20% reflects the great concern that was maintained at the negotiation table to recover the purchasing power of workers’ wages“, he claimed Jaime Alberto Cabal, president of Fenalco.

“The unions were able to demonstrate that a higher salary increase than the one agreed was not pertinent, since this would affect the labor costs of companies, economic growth and job creation,” he added.

For his part, Congresswoman Clara Lopez He stated, through his social networks, that this increase “favors workers, does not harm employers and is on the way to the competitiveness of the country“.

Economist and former Finance Minister Mauricio Cardenas said a 16% increase “This is good news for 3 million workers, but it is bad for the unemployed and informal workers who see the possibility of getting a formal job receding.“.

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