- 14 votes in favor allowed this Tuesday the Labor Reform to advance to a second debate in the plenary session of the House of Representatives.
- This bill, which will provide greater guarantees to the Colombian working population, will continue its process in the next Legislature, which will begin on July 20.
Bogotá, June 18, 2024. (@MinInterior)-. The Labor Reform being processed in the Congress of the Republic made significant progress this Tuesday with its approval in the first debate, before the conclusion of the Legislature that will last until June 20.
The bill was supported by 14 representatives of the Seventh Commission of the Chamber, who gave their vote in favor of this reformist initiative that seeks to protect and vindicate the labor rights of 22.3 million Colombians employed in the country, of which 8 million 992 thousand are women (40.8%) and 13 million 40 thousand are men (59.2%).
«The Government of Change, President Gustavo Petro, does have a great strategy for employment. And that strategy is contained in the National Development Plan. We do not believe that jobs are created by destroying the rights of workers. For this reason, in our conviction that employment is a comprehensive government policy, we have clear articles that not only give the employment goals, but also how we are going to generate it: with reindustrialization, with the development of the countryside. as an engine of development, and of course with the recognition of the economy popular”, assured the Minister of Labor, Gloria Inés Ramírez.
Among what was approved by the majorities in the Seventh Commission, the guarantees that will be provided to the working population in terms of job stability stand out, by promoting indefinite-term hiring.
There will also be a balance between the business and labor sectors, as well as formalization and social security measures in micro businesses, providing labor flexibility with responsibility, and supporting sectors such as hotels, restaurants, bars and agriculture.
Furthermore, regarding daytime work, it was established that the right will be returned to workers, by establishing that daytime work is the one carried out in the period between 6:00 in the morning and 7:00 at night. Meanwhile, night work is work carried out in the period between 7:00 at night and 6:00 in the morning of the next day. There will no longer be night work from 10:00 at night.
«Today we approve such important issues as the agricultural contract and the agricultural wage. This will give the possibility for more than one million five hundred thousand rural workers to enter the formalization process. “In the same way, we approved here an article on care work, fundamentally for rural women, and that allows us that more than 600 thousand farm workers can also join the process, not only of formalization but with guarantees,” added Minister Ramírez.
For his part, the Minister of the Interior, Luis Fernando Velasco, expressed: «I celebrate that the majorities in the Seventh Commission support the Labor Reform with which we will guarantee fair and equitable work, which has as its pillar respect for labor rights, equal opportunities and non-discrimination. “Colombians deserve respect for their labor rights and guarantees.”
Added to this is the approval of the maximum legal working day, which will be 42 hours a week and will respect the progressive reduction that has been applied. The regulation of flexible working hours and a 36-hour workweek for successive shifts were incorporated.
In the case of fixed-term employment contracts, or contracts for work, they must be concluded in writing and must specify the need that is intended to be addressed and its connection with the established duration. If these do not meet the previously mentioned conditions and requirements, these contracts will be deemed to have been concluded for an indefinite term from the beginning of the employment relationship.
Additionally, there will be changes in the dismissal procedure, since the reform has clear rules that companies must comply with in said procedure. In that sense, an increase in compensation for dismissal without just cause in fixed-term and indefinite-term contracts was established.
In fixed-term contracts, the compensation will correspond to the value of the salaries corresponding to the time remaining to fulfill the stipulated term of the contract or its extension. In no case will the compensation be less than 45 days of salary.
Another aspect defined in the articles of the reform is the obligation for the employee to give 30 days’ notice to his employer when he is going to resign. In the case of dismissals without just cause from indefinite-term contracts, 45 days of salary will be paid when the worker completes a period of service of no more than one year. If the worker has more than one year of continuous service and less than five, he will be paid 20 additional days of salary over the 45 basic days for each of the years of service following the first.
Furthermore, if the worker has five or more years of continuous service and less than ten, he will be paid an additional 30 days of salary over 45 basic days, for each of the years of service following the first.
According to the Ministry of Labor, this project was supported by the International Labor Organization (ILO), the World Bank, the United Nations (UN), and the Ibero-American Social Security Organization (OISS).
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