On March 16, when the ordinary sessions of the Congress of the Republic begin shortly, it will be the turn to file another of the reforms promised by the government of President Gustavo Petro.
It’s about the labor reforms which, according to the draft released yesterday, will have 77 articles to be discussed during this legislative semester. The Minister of Labor, Gloria Inés Ramírez, assured that adjustments are still being made to what will be the defined text of the bill.
(Read also: This would be the contracts for the provision of services with the labor reform)
One of the controversial issues that was reflected in this draft is the one referring to the daytime working day, which will be between 6 in the morning and 6 in the afternoon. Therefore, the night schedule will go from 6 in the afternoon to 6 in the morning of the following day. Currently, this day begins at 9 pm.
While article 18 stipulates that Sundays and holidays must be paid with a surcharge of 100 percent on the ordinary salary in proportion to the hours worked, without prejudice to the ordinary salary to which the worker is entitled for having worked the entire week. Today that payment is 75 percent.
The adjustments that are being proposed will lead to an increase in the workload of employers between 30 and 35 percent this year.
Additionally, the hours per week that adolescents over 17 years of age may work, duration from 40 to 42 hours.
For the president of the National Federation of Merchants (Fenalco), Jaime Alberto Cabal, the adjustments that are being proposed in terms of extending the hours of the night shift and higher costs in the payment of Sundays, holidays and overtime, will lead to the workload of employers increases between 30 and 35 percent this year.
With what has been revealed so far, the bill would not classify the hours worked on Saturday as Sunday, as President Gustavo Petro had stated in one of his past speeches. In other words, the 42 hours can be spread over the six working days of the week without incurring overtime pay.
It is also established that people who work in a company under an apprenticeship contract (such as those of the Sena) must receive a salary that, in no case, will be less than the current legal minimum wage (1.16 million pesos in 2023). Today the pay apprentices receive is 50 percent of the legal salary.
“If we are going to equate it to a labor contract, it is no longer an apprenticeship contract. I believe that we are having a inconsistency and misinterpretation of what an apprentice is and the opportunity he needs to complement his training”, said the president of Acopi, Rosmery Quintero.
(Also read: Labor reform: what changes for people who work on platforms?)
Changes in employment contracts
Regarding the types of contracts, it is stipulated that those of indefinite term will be those that are not stipulated in writing as a fixed term, work or specific work or do not refer to occasional or transitory work, in application of the principle of primacy of reality.
For the fixed terms and work or work, it is indicated that cannot be used for permanent activities in the company. For its celebration and extensions, it will be necessary to specify precisely in the contract the cause for which it is contracted for said term and its connection with the expected duration, or otherwise it will be understood to be concluded for an indefinite term.
they also put limits to the use of contracts for the provision of services and article 17 says that this modality cannot be used to link people who carry out permanent and subordinate activities in public and private companies.
There is nothing favorable or that seeks balance in the relationship but, on the contrary, it suffocates the business sector
Now companies require a judicial authorization to dismiss or terminate the employment contract of mothers or fathers who are heads of households with no other economic alternative, people with disabilities, pregnant women and up to 6 months after childbirth or their spouse or partner and pre-pensioners.
The president of Acopi stated that these proposals, instead translated into job stability, will substantially reduce the number of people hired by the business sector and today’s stable employment will be put at risk.
“If this bill is passed like this, there is nothing favorable or that seeks balance in the relationship but rather, on the contrary, suffocates the business sector“, he added.
As for the temporary service companies, it is stipulated that these may only be used to hire personnel for occasional, accidental or transitory work; when personal replacement is required on vacation, on leave, incapacity due to illness, or maternity or paternity leave; and to address increases in production, transportation, sales of products or merchandise, seasonal harvest periods, and the provision of services, for a maximum term of six months.
Another relevant adjustment proposed in the labor reform is related to paternity leavewhich was constituted progressively until it reached 12 weeks in 2025, since currently it is only 14 days.
Therefore, it will be non-transferable for five weeks from the moment the labor reform law enters into force. Subsequently, in 2024 it will go up to eight weeks non-transferable and in 2025 it will finally reach 12 weeks (three months).
“Both parents may freely agree how to distribute the time of the flexible parental leave in weekly periods, accumulated or interrupted,” says the project.
(Also read: Labor reform and layoffs: who will have “reinforced job stability”?)
Payment of compensation
Article 64 of the draft reform also proposes changes to the compensation that companies must pay when a claim is filed. unfair dismissal of an employee He had an indefinite term contract.
If the time of service was not greater than one year, the worker must be paid 45 days of salary (today it is 30 days); but if he worked for more than one year and less than five, the payment will be 15 additional days of salary, over the previous 45, for each of the years of service subsequent to the first, and proportionally by fraction.
In the case of an employee who worked 5 or more continuous years and less than 10, they will be they will pay an additional 20 days of salary over the 45 days of wages mentioned above. Finally, if there were 10 or more years, an additional 40 days must be canceled for each of the years of service subsequent to the first.
Regarding the current regulation, when paying this type of compensation there will no longer be any differentiation between those who earn more or less than 10 monthly legal minimum wages.
Regulations for digital platforms
The draft of the labor reform bill also devotes several articles to regulate work on digital platforms that have operations in Colombia. He says that between those who work with applications and the company that operates it there is a formal employment relationship and, therefore, the employer must comply with all legal obligations.
And in the event that the workers of digital platforms are self-employed, the digital platform must verify that said persons are affiliated with the social security, in health subsystems, pensions and labor risks and complying with their obligations to make contributions.
At this moment there are more points that separate us and from which the unions disagree, than what unites us so that this reform reaches Congress by consensus
Otherwise, they must directly assume the payment of 100 percent of the contributions as if they were businessmen, and in the event that a risk protected by social security materializes, they must respond for its consequences in the same terms as the company would. social security entity.
Regarding the workers of digital distribution or delivery platforms, it establishes that the affiliation and contribution to social security of the employees will be as dependents in the ‘part-time’ modality.
Through the labor reform, the agricultural journal modality to remunerate agricultural contracts for a determined time or for the time that the completion of a work or work lasts.
(Also read: Labor reform: this is how Sundays and holidays would remain in the Petro project)
likewise strike is established as a right. “The right to strike is a human, constitutional, fundamental, international, inter-American right, an expression of social protest and an essential component of freedom of association,” see article 69.
besides, The strike may be initiated within the 10 working days following to have taken the decision to initiate it. Currently, the Substantive Labor Code says that it can only be done after two business days after its declaration and no more than 10 business days later.
And although the Minister of Labor, Gloria Inés Ramírez, is in the best position to agree with the unions, the president of Fenalco considers that the Labor Agreement Commission “is going to have a very important job because at this moment there are more points than what separates us and those of us who disagree, the unions, than what unites us so that this reform reaches Congress by consensus”.
Meanwhile, Rosmery Quintero said that “this desire for change can scare away the business sector, not only abroad but also national open private capital. Although it is recognized that the Minister (of Labor) has a dialogue, we believe that this reform should not only protect the worker but to the company so that it can continue to show employment and improve the quality of employment”.
