The strong tension between the heads of the Ministry of Labor finally ended with the departure of Edwin Palma, Vice Minister of Labor Relations, who in the last few hours presented his resignation letter to President Gustavo Petro, thanking them for the opportunity and the joint work they have carried out over the years.
In the resignation letter, Palma Egea said that he will remain in the position he has held since this Government began until August 31, where he was characterized by his fight against collective agreements and for promote various initiatives to strengthen the protection of trade union groups in Colombia.
“In these two years, from my office and with the entire team of employees who accompanied me, we contributed to the protection of the working class through labor inspection, we promoted social dialogue, respect for human rights at work, the deepening of democracy in labor relations, the strengthening of unionism and the modernization of the norms of labor law, both in the public and private sectors,” he said in his letter.
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Sources from the Ministry of Labor told Portafolio that this resignation originated due to the strong differences between the outgoing Vice Minister and the head of this portfolio, Gloria Inés Ramírez, which would be related, among other things, to the strike carried out by several unions in this entity and which has forced the Ministry’s management to dispatch from the Family Subsidy Superintendency.
Meeting between the Ministry of Labor and oil union spokesmen.
Courtesy – Ministry of Labor
“I am retiring with the conviction that I did everything in my power to fulfill the popular mandate that brought us to power in 2022 and, as I recently expressed, from whatever position, including once again that of the social and union movement, I will continue to defend your political project,” added Edwin Palma.
Power struggle
Another of the causes that could be involved in this resignation is the departure of Angela Maria Caro Botero, an advisor to Palma in the labor portfolio, who was fired by Minister Gloria Ines Ramirez while the Vice Minister He was on vacation, which only served to increase the differences between these two characters.
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Inside the corridors of the Ministry of Labour, it is said that Caro’s departure has revealed an internal struggle within that ministry, which has been the scene of clashes with its striking unions. Where agreements reached by both sides to try to avert the strike have even been ignored.
It should be noted that in his resignation letter, Edwin Palma does not mention Minister Ramírez. Ríos, nor Vice Minister Iván Daniel Jaramillo, despite the fact that he thanks all the Ministry workers for the time they shared.
Edwin Palma, Deputy Minister of Labor, and Andrés Barrios, Director of Corporate Relations at Teleperformance.
“It was truly a luxury to work with the entire labor inspection body throughout the country. They are the reason for the existence of the Ministry of Labor and as I have invited them many times, I hope they continue to be the helping hand of millions of people who work and are unprotected. To the workers of the Ministry, especially to the team of my Labor office, my eternal recognition and gratitude,” he concluded.
At this point it is worth highlighting that high government sources told El Tiempo that the tension between Ramírez and Palma increased after President Petro asked him and not her to project the adjustment decrees. the rules of the pension reform, a situation that did not go down well at all in the sectors opposed to it.
