Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro ordered a referendum to obtain voter approval for the labor reform bill.
On Saturday, Colombia’s lower house passed a pension reform backed by leftist President Gustavo Petro for the second time after the constitutional court ordered a rerun of the poll due to procedural irregularities.
Although the court’s June ruling did not decide on the validity of the law, it stated that the lower house is to vote again on the version approved by the Senate, the upper house of Congress, since insufficient discussions were held before the first vote in June 2024.
On Saturday, 97 lawmakers backed the bill, while one lawmaker voted against it. The court ruling stated that the measure will be enforceable in July but will not be valid until the court gives its approval.
The law was first approved by the Senate and followed by the lower house in June 2024. The bill aims to improve the state pension fund Colpensiones by mandating earnings of less than $800 per month to contribute to it. It guarantees payments for people who have no savings or have insufficient retirement funds.
Colpensiones is a state-owned company. It manages the public pension system in Colombia, often known as the “Average Premium Regime”. The funds are made into a common fund, and retirees receive a pension based on age and years of service.
The legislation lowers the number of weeks that women with children must collect to be eligible for pensions. It will not affect the people who have already accrued enough weeks to be within striking distance of retirement.
The pension age in Colombia remains unchanged at 62 for males and 57 for women.
The official government data estimates that the payouts to people with no or insufficient pension funds will help around 2.6 million older people.
Petro’s ambitious economic and social changes have faced significant opposition in Congress, although parliamentarians supported the labor reform in June. It was like an initial proposal promoted by Petro’s government, initially rejected.
President Gustavo Petro ordered a referendum to get direct voter approval from the electorate for the labour reform bill rather than their representatives. Colombia’s Senate approved the modified and much-disputed labor reform bill.
The bill measures to establish an eight-hour workday, require delivery drivers to pay social security and increase weekend and holiday wages.
Around 57 lawmakers supported the bill, while 31 opposed it.
In defiance of his political opposition, who claim that the vote would violate institutional norms and threaten Colombia’s division of powers, Petro ordered a 12-question poll last week to get the Senate to vote for the reform before the end of its session on June 20.
On Tuesday, 52 lawmakers vote against and 2 in support of the referendum. The history is repeating, referring to the May rejection, which also was in a close vote of 49 to 27.
The government has stated that it may call off the vote if the approved reform aligns with its goals.
Labor Minister Antonio Sanguino stated that the government is satisfied with the new democratic and progressive labor legislation.
The approved law change will increase pay for work done after 7 pm and gradually increase the premium for work completed on Sundays and holidays.
Under the regulation, independent contractors who work under well-known delivery apps, including Rappi, will need to contribute to social security.
The application will not be allowed to demand exclusivity from contractors and must provide human supervision of their algorithm in the interim.
Analysts believe that the law will result in higher labor expenses of 6.8% to 35%.
Most of the social and economic reforms promised by Petro, elected in 2022, were rejected by the lawmakers.
In the first half of 2026, Colombia will hold elections for both the presidency and the legislature. The next legislative session is in July.
