On March 19, thousands of workers, unions, and social movements mobilized across Colombia to demand labor rights and protest the business sector’s obstruction of labor reforms. The demonstrations were called by President Gustavo Petro himself in direct response to Congress rejecting key labor protections, despite months of negotiations.
Colombia Informa interviewed Edgar Mojica, vice president of the Unitary Workers’ Central (CUT), who, in addition to supporting past mobilizations, stated that the labor unions have built an agenda of proposals for the restoration of labor rights that has been ignored by the business community and their congressmen.
Colombia Informa: What’s the outcome of yesterday’s protests?
Edgar Mojica: The nationwide mobilization is very important because it represents a response from all workers, both male and female, across the country’s social and popular sectors.
From our perspective, we believe this is the way forward; that is, the way forward lies in the unity of the people and in the people proposing the profound transformations that the country and society need.
Jornada de movilización 18 de Marzo en rechazo al hundimiento de la reforma laboral pic.twitter.com/tGsC29NfuL
— Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (@cutcolombia) March 19, 2025
The bourgeoisie, the economic power, the Colombian business community, have refused to accept even the most minimal reforms. These reforms involved restoring some of the rights that more than 30 years of neoliberalism has stripped away from workers.
In that sense, against the regime’s refusal to return anything it has taken from the people, the demonstrations were an excellent response, and we must strive for more.
That is to say, the Colombian social movement, the workers, must understand that the path is that of popular power; there is no other way.
CI: What proposals have the labor unions made to the current government?
EM: Since August 2022, led by the Central Unitary Workers’ Union (CUT) Colombia, trade unions and pension confederations have convened for the first National Labor Conference.
As a result, the Gustavo Petro administration, headed by then-Labor Minister Gloria Ramírez, was given a dossier containing a series of proposed bills addressing labor rights, nine proposed decrees for the government to issue, and twelve proposals for the ratification of ILO international conventions that would also be submitted to Congress.
We agreed at that time that these proposals, as reported by the President of the Republic, would be discussed at the salary and labor policy consultation table, whose constitutional purpose is to discuss all matters related to labor issues and the minimum wage every year.
The meeting process lasted seven months, but no agreement was reached with the business community on a proposal for labor and pension reform.
The Colombian business community, led by the National Association of Industrialists (ANDI), rejected this possibility, denied rights, and refused to offer any proposals in an outright act of sabotage. This act of sabotage and failure to restore rights continued with their parliamentary lobbying.
Remember that in the initial debates, they struck down the entire chapter on collective rights, which covers the fundamental pillars of association rights, which are organization, negotiation, and strikes. And yesterday, they struck down what remained of the labor reform.
We, the workers, are going to take up the proposals we had put forward to the Government and demand their implementation.
CI: Is it possible to implement some of the reform via decree?
EM: All governments in Colombia have implemented labor reforms against workers and the people via decree.
We believe it’s time for Gustavo Petro’s government to restore workers’ rights by decree. He has the drafts we submitted to the trade unions.
These include the formalization of rural labor, the formalization of all community mothers’ work, the return of multi-level collective bargaining rights to the private sector, the regulation of essential public services, and the fundamental right to strike.
In addition, there is the return of night and holiday surcharges for workers and respect for social security levels.
That is to say, there are a series of decrees that can be issued directly by the Colombian government that would restore rights to workers, and that should be the approach taken by this government.
CI: Where is the referendum proposal headed?
EM: We at the Unitary Workers’ Central (CUT) have not yet discussed what the proposal will be regarding the consultation issue, but I will highlight some elements:
The first thing is that we, the workers, have already been consulted at the labor negotiation table, which is our natural forum.
When we consulted, we submitted our proposals and negotiated for seven months. In addition, the government received a series of other proposals starting in August 2022.
Our will is expressed there. But our will as workers was also expressed in the support given to the National Development Plan, where we included an entire chapter on decent and dignified work and formal labor.
There are clear signs that the working people have already expressed their will. They have told this government what they want and what is needed to have decent and dignified work in this country.
What we hope is that he executes this popular mandate. Petro has the support of the workers. We hope the government will proceed to restore our rights.
This article was first publish on Colombia Informa.
