The government, employers and unions have just three days to jointly decide how much the tax will increase. 2024 minimum wage Bilateral talks will be held between the parties this Wednesday and Thursday, and an agreement is expected to be reached by Friday afternoon. Otherwise, extraordinary sessions will continue and the maximum date on which this will be determined by decree will be December 30, a situation that has not occurred since 2021.
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This Tuesday the unions announced their cards. The offer they brought to the three-piece table was this: Increasing next year’s minimum wage by 18 percent, i.e. from the current 1,160,000 pesos to 1,368,800 pesos, plus another 165,915 pesos for transportation assistance.
“Our proposal will help revive the economy. With the increase in the minimum wage, workers consume more and everything starts to revive. “The important thing is that the Bank of the Republic does not continue to be deaf to reality and reduce very high interest rates,” said Fabio Arias, president of the Unitary Workers’ Center (CUT).
The agreement on the minimum amount is only mandatory. Today, approximately 2.5 million people in Colombia receive this salary. There is no legal regulation foreseeing an increase for the remaining registered employees; Although many companies choose to do this with inflation figures in some cases.
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On the contrary, businessmen came to the negotiation table without giving any figures. What they presented was a letter in which they expressed their concerns for two reasons: A disproportionate increase amid a complex economic panorama and discussion of an increase as Congress tries to move forward a labor reform that increases costs for employers.
“If we take into account that inflation will end in 2023 Between 9.2 and 9.4 percent, as predicted by the Republic Bank, He emphasized that “growth in 2023 will be 0.8 percent and the latest data reflect the tendency to increase unemployment in the country, and if an increase is not placed in line with inflation, it may have negative consequences for the economy.” Fenalco, Jaime Alberto Cabal, president of the traders’ union.
In a joint statement from Andi, Fenalco, SAC, Asobancaria and Acopi, an invitation was made to pursue a technical methodology aimed at joint construction. A decision aimed at recovering and protecting the purchasing power of the salaries of those who feel the impact of high inflation the most, especially those with limited resources.
“The labor confederations have given a figure taken out of their sleeves, which drives away the possibilities of a wage agreement. However, we ask you to re-evaluate this based on the technical figures we know,” Cabal said.
The truth is that there is a difference between the 18 percent that the unions want (a figure above this year’s 16 percent increase) and the 9.4 percent that will eliminate inflation and serve as a guide for businessmen. 9 percentage points before productivity data is even taken into account. AND As for white silver, there is a difference of 99,760 pesos between 1,368,800 pesos and 1,269,040 pesos, which may be the starting floor of the guilds (not taking into account transportation assistance).
Despite this, Jorge Enrique Bedoya, president of the Colombian Farmers Association (SAC), was optimistic and said he hoped the construction of the figure would be done despite the difference.
Usually the technical basis for negotiations is the current year’s inflation plus productivity data. Although Dane announced three figures, there was no agreement between the parties on which one they would take into account.
On the one hand, Total factor productivity became negative at -1 percent in the third quarter of 2023. Meanwhile, the statistical office determined that labor productivity per hour worked was 0.76 percent and labor productivity per capita was -0.7 percent.
In order for people not to lose their purchasing power every year, Minister of Labor Gloria Inés RamírezThey announced that they decided to remove 88 goods and products from the index, which will be added to the 116 goods and products that were removed from the minimum wage increase last year. “It is a unanimous decision of the board to continue these policies, which we began working on last year,” the official said.
These products will be in the agriculture, business, labor, education, finance, healthcare, transportation, housing and utilities sectors.
In the healthcare field, they will seek the removal of EPS audit fees from the index, and in the education sector, they will seek registrations and registrations in technical, technological and university careers. Likewise, garbage collection and veterinary services are also available.
House of Representatives VII. The fact that the labor reform debate planned to be held today in the Commission proceeds in parallel with the 2024 minimum wage agreement is one of the biggest concerns of business owners.
“While on the one hand, we want to reach an agreement on increasing the minimum wage, on the other hand, progress is being made unilaterally and without agreement on a project that will increase labor costs by 25 to 30 percent. Not compatible. There is also the risk of possible dismissal,” said Fenalco president Jaime Alberto Cabal.
From the Guild Council, which brings together the 32 most representative unions of the business sector, They sent a letter to the project’s speakers in which they said that the proposed reform did not solve many of the existing problems, such as high unemployment and informality rates.
“It is a priority for the employed population to be able to contribute, albeit informally, to the healthcare system, contribute to the pension system, improve their coverage of occupational risks and expand their access to the financial system,” the letter says.
Likewise, the Union Council led by Germán Arce guarantees that it will not solve the legal problems of the labor market. “In terms of enhanced job stability, it may result in an increase in the level of litigation as well as legal uncertainty,” the letter states.
They also say the law does not protect private companies, which are the engine of the economy, the creator of formal employment and the axis of social transformation, or the financial sustainability of Colombia’s social security system.
“The increase in the amount of compensation is harmful to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises due to their limited financial capacity. “This may affect their sustainability and permanence because the increase in compensation will increase the cost of unfair dismissal by increments ranging from 178.6 to 200 percent, depending on the length of time worked,” they warn.
So far the outlook in Commission VII is negative. In fact, the project starts with a more difficult estimate than last year. On this occasion the majority presentation started with four signatures, this time there are only three signatures (from the Historical Covenant).
When it comes to the distribution of powers, it is useful to remember what happened in the last parliament. The government did not even achieve the minimum quorum for debate. Little has changed this time. The project could produce the same result as the distances are even greater. However, speaker María Fernanda Carrascal claimed that she had sufficient support in her dialogue with EL TIEMPO.
Source: Exame
