Colombian workers win long-awaited labor reform, “justice for the working people” : Peoples Dispatch

After several months of intense debate, the government of Colombian President Gustavo Petro, achieved a new political victory and a key campaign promise when the legislature approved his long-awaited labor reform bill. The president signed it into law on June 25. Petro had tried on multiple occasions to have the reform passed, but the opposition managed to block it every time.

Undeterred, the president announced a popular referendum so that Colombians could decide on the proposed articles. The call for a popular referendum, which was accompanied by large mobilizations nationwide, turned out to be very controversial.

The opposition said that it would be unconstitutional, while Petro and his supporters argued that it was a legitimate measure in the face of the opposition’s alleged boycott.

Petro celebrates the labor reform and promotes a new constituent assembly

On X, Petro posted: “The working people of Colombia have won their first victory after 34 years, when the constitution ordered the creation of a labor statute law, an order that has since been unfulfilled. I know there is still much to do, but I have fulfilled my promise to the working class, in which I was raised as a free man and leader, and to which I remain loyal … the constituted power that makes the laws has obeyed the sovereign power, which is the people.”

Furthermore, the president affirmed that he would continue his project, calling for a popular referendum to develop a new constitution: “The people have awakened. The people have seen firsthand who stands with them, who slaps and condemns them, who prohibits them from speaking. That is why a ballot will be provided to call for the national constituent assembly in the upcoming elections.”

What does the labor reform consist of?

The bill consists of 70 articles aimed at reducing labor exploitation. Among the most important measures are:

Domestic employees will not be able to work more than eight hours a day, like all other workers.
Indefinite term contracts will be the basis for any contract, while definite term contracts may only be renewed four times before becoming indefinite.
Prohibition of contracting for the provision of services in the public sector.
Those who work on Sundays or holidays will earn a 100% surcharge on their daily pay. In addition, there will be a surcharge for those who work at night, specifically from 7:00 pm onwards.
Medical students must receive at least minimum wage during their internships.
Companies must hire two people with disabilities for every 100 workers.
Apprenticeship contracts of the National Apprenticeship Service will be considered an employment relationship with legal benefits and will receive 50% of the minimum wage during the academic stage and 75% during the practical stage.
Regulation and recognition of the rights of people working on digital platforms, including their inclusion in social security. A subsidy will also be provided to people who work from home remotely.
Subsidy by the state to companies that hire young people, women, and people over 50 years old.

In addition, the Colombian left wing managed to avoid the inclusion of several articles proposed by the Colombian neoliberal right wing, such as part-time work, and increasing the daily working hours to meet the weekly quota in four days, among others.

What does the labor reform entail?

Peoples Dispatch spoke with María Fernanda Carrascal, Colombian congresswoman of the Pacto Histórico (ruling party), a member of the Seventh Commission of the House of Representatives and the speaker of the labor reform bill.

Carrascal stated that the labor reform, “was not only a campaign promise of Petro and of our political project but it is also the intergenerational construction of a need for justice for working people, something that workers had been seeking for decades, after the backwards reform [passed during Uribe’s government] took away many rights, purchasing power, reduced their wage income, in short, it made them precarious in every possible way.”

Uribe’s labor reform was, according to Carrascal, “The establishment of a neoliberal model that left in its wake informality, unemployment, inequality, and much poverty. That is exactly what we want to solve in this country.”

Regarding the scope of the reform, Carrascal said: “We would like this reform to be deeper, more progressive. However, in the democratic debate, we managed to reach several concessions that allowed us to advance towards the recovery of rights that were taken away from us by the reform of Uribismo in 2002.” The congresswoman emphasized that the reform passed was “for the first time, built by and for the workers … the direct beneficiaries of the labor protection policies.”

Carrascal also highlighted one of the significant achievements was that the reform has a gender focus.

Expanding on the gender aspects of the bill, the congresswoman explained: “We achieved that the work of substitute mothers is recognized … Domestic workers will have written contracts, which is very important because this way we will be able to follow up on the formalization of their work and ensure that they are contributing to social security, that is, that they have full guarantees of their rights … Caregivers, who are mostly women, will be able to shorten their schedules and have paid leave or leave to attend to family obligations with minor children or with other people under their care.”