Colombia To Send New Labor Bill to Congress, Set to Increase costs to Coffee Growers, Faces Opposition
(Coffee Network) – The Colombian government will send to Congress a new labour bill after the past legislature failed to approve the four debates required to approve the initiative. But the new bill faces strong opposition in Congress where President Gustavo Petro no longer enjoys the majority.
Deputy minister of labour Edwin Palma said the government is tunning up some details on the new bill to meet standards of the international labour organization and the the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
But Colombia’s first leftist president Gustvo Petro is facing an uphill second year in office. Petro reached the one-year anniversary of taking office on August 7, and the second year is facing an uphill path with the campaign finance scandal and the arrest of his son complicating the passage of Petro’s reform agenda.
Petro, a former guerilla, initially enjoyed a favourable political environment, with solid legislative backing and high approval ratings. Nonetheless, this honeymoon period was short-lived, and Petro now faces challenges from all sides. Several coalition parties distanced themselves from the president in April, and Petro no longer enjoys an absolute majority in any of the two chambers political analyst, and editorialist Alfredo Rangel. In addition, rating approvals are dropping, making it more difficult to approve three major reforms: health, labor and pension.
“With a weak coalition, low approval ratings, and a new scandal, the chances that Petro gets the approval of key reforms is very low, “ Rangel told Coffee Network.
Complicating further his situation, his son Nicolas Petro admitted that illegal money entered his father's election campaign last year. Nicolas Petro and his ex-wife Daysuris Vazquez were arrested on charges of money laundering and illicit enrichment, an event unlikely to either help President’s falling approval. Yet the attorney general must prove the veracity of the confession.
Higher costs
The new bill that will soon be sent to congress seeks to endorse eight-hour work days, reduce the normal work week to 42 hours and guarantee at least one day off every seven days in line with international norms. Currently, Colombians work 48 hours per week. The bill requires four debates in congress.
But the Colombian central bank says the law, if approved, will cut 450,000 jobs between three to four years.
In addition, surcharges will be paid starting 7:00 p.m. local time, compared with 9:00 pm.currently.
The labor reform will increase labor costs as all labor surcharges and indemnities will be affected, as well as payments associated with apprenticeship contracts, law firm Béndiksen said.
Companies will be limited on outsourcing and the hiring of temporary services, a practice highly used by coffee producers. Once the provision of temporary services, which will have a maximum duration of one year, is completed, it will not be possible to extend the contract or hire with a different temporary services company, law firm Béndiksen said.
Coffee growers will be obliged to fully hire pickers, a practice that will make unfeasible to grow coffee. Currently, coffee pickers weight 50% of total costs.
A load of 125kg of coffee is being paid at COP1.312 million pesos ($328), of that COP850,000 are earmarked to pay coffee pickers, who earn a salary based on how much coffee is picked.
President Gustavo Petro’s labour reform aims to “formalize” that labour force by obliging coffee growers to hire the pickers.
It also aims to strengthen workers’ associations and labor unions, granting them greater facilities for their creation and operation.
By Diana Delgado
