The Government readjusted the salary of the congressmen, who will now earn $48.1 million, which represents an increase of 10.88%, that is, $4.7 million. This was confirmed by the Minister of Finance, Ricardo Bonilla, through decree 0550, which has fiscal effects as of January 1, 2024.
With this increase, legislators will have a better salary than many general managers who lead the country’s companies. According to figures from the human talent consulting firm LHH Colombia, on average, a manager or president of a small or medium-sized company is earning $25 to $35 million, while in large companies the average is above $35 million. That is, $18 million less than a congressman.
If you take the income of 70% of the workforce that earns minimum wage, the comparison is more alarming. According to the Fiscal Observatory of the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Congressmen earn more than 99.4% of Colombian households.
In practical terms, a person who earns minimum wage would have to work three years to earn the same as a congressman receives in one month.
This readjustment is implemented, as requested by the congressmen, given the expenses of representation, the premium for services and location.
For economic analysts consulted, the salary adjustment for congressmen It comes at a time of contradiction, since President Gustavo Petro and the Minister of Finance, Ricardo Bonilla, have invoked economic reactivation measures, where they have asked to increase debt capacity, making the fiscal rule more flexible. “One finds the reality of the increase in salaries of congressmen with the consent of the Ministry not very consistent.
While there is room to lower people’s interest rates, the Ministry of Finance comes with a salary increase in the order of 4.9% in real terms, their salary is increased above this year’s calculated inflation, which may be 6%. It is a very high increase that is not compatible with Colombia’s fiscal situation,” said Henry Amorocho, professor of Finance and Taxation at the Universidad del Rosario. And he added that there is no equal treatment, with a salary for congressmen of $48.1 million, above the 85% average that Colombians earn.
For the teacher Amorocho, the statements by the Minister of Finance, Ricardo Bonilla, about the effort to recover the economy, and the expectation that inflation will continue to decline and that rates will continue to fall, It goes against the decisions made by the Government, such as the salary increase for Congressmen, even more so at crucial moments of political decisions, which the country is going through.
The decree signed by the Ministry of Finance, the increase is valid since January, so congressmen will receive retroactive payments for the months prior to the signature, which total $16 million.
According to the legal support of Decree 0550 of 2024, The increase for congressmen is justified in article 187 of the Constitution, which indicates that the allocation of members will be readjusted annually in proportion equal to the average of the changes that have occurred in the remuneration of central administration servants, in accordance with the certification issued for this purpose by the Comptroller General of the Republic.
10.88% is the percentage readjustment of the new salary of congressmen authorized by the Ministry of Finance.
Salary increased 94% in the last 10 years
The salary of congressmen increased 94.7% from 2014 to 2024, going from $24.7 million to $48.1 million. The increase is less than that of the minimum wage in this same period, which was 159%, going from $616,000 to $1.3 million.
If compared since 1991, the salary of congressmen has increased more than 6,000%, since at that time the salary for parliamentarians was $714,665, which represented 13.82 minimum wages for that year. Today a congressman earns a minimum of 37.
