The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, announced on Tuesday that it will promote a Popular consultation Given the sinking of its labor reform in Congress, by alleging an “institutional blockade” of the legislative to the project and calling mobilizations.
“The Government summons the Colombian people, everything, to decide and summons a popular consultation to define labor reform and health reform,” said the president, after eight members of a permanent commission in the Senate supported the project archive, which had been admitted by the Executive at the beginning of 2023 and in October 2024 he had the approval of representatives, which modified several of his initial items. “The opposition has raised and there is an institutional blockade against the popular vote of the year 2022,” he said in his speech. In addition, he launched a “call to the people to mobilize” on March 18 in the country, in rejection of the “sinking” of the project.
In the debate, of the week, Congresswoman Katherine Miranda, once unconditional support of Petro, now her criticism, said: “There is a false moral because of course, they ask me, do you want to reduce the work day? Obvious. Do you effectively want to pay more festive and night? Well obvious, but do you know what? What they do not tell the country is that we in the midst of the discussion of the reform in the plenary of the Chamber, I requested that these benefits from the employees, with which I agree, were also in the public sector. Why then do we break the ball to the private sector and not workers, not public sector contractors? The response at the time of the Minister of Labor was, “Katherine, is that we don’t have money today. The Colombian State does not have money to solve the magnitude that we say would imply a reform of these in the Colombian state. ” Then, we do send the ball to the entrepreneurs and the national government is not assuming. So, that seems like a false speech. ”
“I tell him who is really going to suffer. The small businesses, the bakery that has three employees and has them with a lot of effort formally. Who will suffer that? Entrepreneurs who are bringing merchandise from China, whatever and are trying to sell any product and are trying to get ahead, because what if you have three employees and the cost is increased by around 18 or 20% each of the employees, because what are you going to do? Well, necessarily dispense with one to be able to assume those labor costs. So here there is a false there is a false morals there is a false speech, ”added the congresswoman.
“And I end that, if you are told,“ Hey, you want to not work again, but have a salary of 50 million pesos? Well, everyone is going to tell him yes. ” “Hey, do you want not to contribute to the health system and have the best specialists that can exist and a magical pill for which you will never get sick? Well, everyone is going to vote for him, ”he emphasized.
“That is why I believe that the role that the Plenary of the Senate and the Constitutional Court will play is very important, because although here it is determined in article 52 of the 134, if the memory does not fail me, that they cannot make popular consultation on articles projects, which are some viable, realizable questions. They cannot go out, as my colleagues said right now, “do you want everyone to pay a salary three times higher than what is right now?” Well, only everyone is going to vote yes. So, I believe that you have to be quite responsible and today the ball is the plenary of the Senate and the Constitutional Court, ”said Katherine Miranda.
The debate, of week, complete:
The Petro’s labor reform, one of his government’s greatest legislative betsproposed to put an end to the renewal of temporary labor contracts for long -term workers, an increase in the remuneration of extra hours and days on weekends and holidays, recognized mobile application workers, among other figures that The current Labor Code does not stipulate. “The government has decided another path. We believe it is the people who have to decide, ”Petro continued.
Since his arrival to power, Petro has proposed three great reforms: work, one to the health system and another pension. Of these, so far only the project to modify the system D pensions has come to fruition and expect a final procedure in the Constitutional Court.
Last week, the health reform had a first impulse with its approval in the camera. However, it must go through the same Senate commission that ended up sinking the labor project on Tuesday. In that commission, a first attempt was also filed to approve a first version of health reform last year.
