The Colombian House of Representatives approved this Thursday, in a second debate, the labor reform presented by the Government of Gustavo Petro, which will now continue its legislative process in the Senate, where it will have to go through two other debates.
(Read: How was the labor reform and what effects would it have on employment and informality?).
For President Petro, with this approval, “We are one step closer to building a fair labor system, focused on protecting workers’ rights”.
The legislative proposal was approved with 93 votes in favor and 13 against, and now must pass the obstacle of Commission VI and the plenary session of the Senate. where the Government does not have majorities and other reforms such as health have fallen.
“It is important to note that we started with 80 articles, of which six were eliminated but eight new articles arrived,” expressed the Minister of Labor, Gloria Inés Ramírez.
Among the most notable articles contained in this project are the increase in nighttime surcharge hours, guarantees of union rights, increase in paternity leave and the regulation of work on digital platforms, among others.
The axes of the initiative
The labor reform contemplates that the night shift begins at 7 pm and not at 9 pm as occurs today. In this way, after that hour it would be considered extra and would have a 35% surcharge.
For its part, establishes that the ordinary work day is 8 hours a day and 42 hours a week, which may be distributed over 5 or 6 days, always guaranteeing a day of rest.
(Besides: Changes due to pension reform would increase the probability that more women will retire).
The initiative also establishes rules so that employment contracts are for an indefinite term and that fixed-term contracts cannot be longer than 4 years; Otherwise, it will be understood to be indefinite.
Regarding work on Sundays or holidays, the reform proposes that these work days be paid with a 100% surcharge, since currently it is 75% of the ordinary salary. This would be done gradually between 2026 and 2027.
Labor Reform
Sergio Acero/ CEET
Licenses
The labor reform also plans some adjustments to workers’ licenses so that they can have more time available for their families.
In this sense, companies would have to grant paid leave to people who need to attend their children’s school obligations, attend to judicial matters or attend scheduled or emergency medical appointments.
(Also: And my pension? This is how the future of retirement looks for the country’s young people).
Also included are cases in which “working women present disabling menstrual cycles, dysmenorrhea or symptoms of abdominal tension due to menstruation, associated with already diagnosed endometriosis”.
If the project is approved, paternity leave would go from the current two weeks to four, while the worker who marries or has declared a de facto marital union with his or her partner will have the right to paid leave of three working days. regardless of the type of work.
Domestic work and formalization
The reform indicates that domestic service workers must be bound by a written employment contract. This must be under existing labor regulations and with registration in the Integrated Contribution Settlement Form (Pila)..
A new article was also approved indicating that the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (Icbf) will progressively involve community mothers (fathers) and substitutes in its staff as official workers, prioritizing those population groups located in the national territory with higher rate of informality.
For their part, microbusinesses will be able to make social security payments part-time, which in any case must be computed in weeks at the end of each month. The national government will prioritize and protect the hotel, restaurant, bar, and agricultural sectors.
A microbusiness will be understood as a single-person, family, community or association company that has up to nine workers on its payroll for whom it makes social security contributions.
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