Acoset warns that a draft decree could stop Christmas hiring and put more than 50,000 seasonal jobs at risk.
A few days from highest formal hiring peak of the year, the Colombian Association of Temporary Services Companies (Acoset) issued a warning about the Government’s draft decree that modifies labor outsourcing rules. According to the union, the proposal could generate an immediate effect on seasonal hiring at the end of the year and the operation of hundreds of companies.
“A few days before the highest formal hiring peak, Acoset warns that the Government’s draft decree could trigger the immediate loss of tens of thousands of jobs and paralyze the operation of hundreds of companies,” the union said, warning that December depends largely on flexible employment that mobilizes sectors such as logistics, retail, mass consumption, call centers, manufacturing, surveillance, airport services, hotels and tourism.
What is the impact of the decree on seasonal employment?
In dialogue with La FM, Acoset stated that the Christmas season faces a direct threat. “In the middle of the Christmas season, when Colombia most needs formal employment, a draft government decree threatens to stop hiring and put at risk more than 50,000 jobs in December aloneand even 500,000 formal jobs in the year”.
For Miguel Pérez, president of the Association, the project published by the Ministry of Labor introduces changes that impact the formalization of flexible employment and compromise the operational capacity of thousands of companies.
“While commerce, logistics and services prepare for the Christmas season, the draft decree published by the Government leaves formal seasonal hiring without support and affects the operational response of thousands of companies,” he stated. He added that “just one of the points of this decree would reduce the flexible labor market by up to 60%”, which, according to him, discourages seasonal labor demand.
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Pérez assured that Temporary Service Companies play a central role in labor formalization. “We notice a profound impact on formal employment and on the operation of hundreds of companies that depend on the temporary service sector for production peaks, seasonality, harvests, replacements and different needs.” He also maintained that ESTs are a legal and strictly regulated sector. “ESTs play a fundamental role in the formalization of employment, and we need the regulations to reflect that reality.”
What points in the draft raise the most concern?
The union also questioned that the draft ignores agreements reached in the recent labor reform. “In this season in which the use of specialized and seasonal labor predominates, it is striking that a draft decree ignores the agreement that was reflected in the recent labor reform,” said Pérez, reiterating that temporary companies “are a legal, regulated and formalizing sector,” and that imposing new limits directly affects employment.
Acoset also rejected that some sectors of the Government have suggested that these companies operate outside the law. “It is disrespectful to try to identify as illegal companies that strictly comply with regulations, that contribute to the social security system and that generate formal employment with all the guarantees of the law.” According to Pérez, the decree even ignores international regulatory advances. “Labor outsourcing in Colombia is not only legal, but, according to the latest study by the OECDis the best regulated in the world along with Türkiye (…) and has the support of the ILO Convention 181”.
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Among the points considered most sensitive in the draft are the 10% cap per dependencythe prohibition of successive rotation and the expansion of the sanctioning regime. For Acoset, these measures ignore the country’s productive dynamics, restrict the ability to respond to demand peaks and create legal uncertainty about a model that, according to the union, is fully regulated and monitored by the State. “Limiting a formal, regulated and highly monitored model by the State does not reduce job insecurity: increases it”Perez concluded.
Acoset reiterated its willingness to dialogue with the Ministry of Labor to review the necessary adjustments and preserve a regulation that protects workers without affecting competitiveness, productivity or labor formalization.
Source: Integrated Information System
