The government of Gustavo Petro filed its labor reform on Thursday. The project, presented by the Minister of Labor, Gloria Inés Ramírez, together with the President, Gustavo Petro, is based on equal opportunities for workers, the protection of individual rights of workers, as well as the guarantee of collective labor law, referring to trade union guarantees.
(Relive the presentation of the labor reform of the Petro government).
Despite this, there are several positions that suggest that, contrary to the intentions of the Ministry of Labor, the reform project could increase the rates of informality and would not encourage hiring either.
“The river goes one way and the bridge the other. The reform, according to economic theory, gives the impression that it is raised by an ‘insider unionism’, which takes care of its affiliates but forgets about the unemployed or the informal. In that sense, it needs a very detailed analysis.” assured Mauricio Olivera, economist and administrative and financial vice-rector of the U. de los Andes.
According to the academic, the Colombian pension system has among its conflicts the low level of contributions, and this is related to informal work.
(The 10 key proposals of the labor reform, according to the Government).
“And the labor reform does not address the problem of informality. We are rigidifying the labor market, preventing different categories of workers from enjoying benefits. The Substantive Labor Code is exclusive, it leaves many workers out, and the reform ends up being even more exclusive”, said.
Among the alerts issued by both unions such as Acopi (the one for micro-entrepreneurs) and Fenalco (the one for merchants) are the higher costs that formal companies would have to assume.
This is due to issues such as the change in working hours, which relive nightly surcharges starting at 6:00 pm, or the proposal to increase the Sunday and holiday surcharge to 100% and not to 75% as it is today.
“This generates better prerogatives on paper for formal workers but increases the cost of creating jobs at a time of global economic uncertainty and with a significant inflationary scenario”On the other hand, Iván Vegas Molina, leading partner of BDO Legal in Colombia, stands out.
According to Vegas, there is concern that the reform “It is not focused on seeing how we bring that almost 50% of people who are in the informal sector to formal options and, in this way, generate better employment conditions.” The expert agrees with Olivera that the project is focused on workers who are already in the system.
(Labor reform: the modifications that would be made to the project).
Among the points that are also worrying regarding the promotion to create jobs are the contracts, since the reform proposes that the indefinite term contract be handled as a general rule and limits the contracts for the provision of services or work and fixed term.
Besidesthe project also equates the requirements of labor outsourcing, contractors and apprenticeship contracts to those of a labor contract.
“The reform disqualifies outsourcing. And while we went from a dramatic scenario in the first draft to a slightly more subdued one,” assured Carlos Hernán Godoy, partner of Godoy, Córdoba Abogados.
As explained by the jurist, the norm makes the cost of outsourcing more expensive for the business community, since contracting in this modality would have a cost as high as doing it directly.
“One of the forms of formal employment generation is being hit very hard. Not only are conditions to reduce informality not being generated, but they may be getting worse”, Indian.
LAURA LUCIA BECERRA ELEJALDE
