‘Be consistent with the country’, the academy’s position for increasing the minimum

In a little less than two weeks, negotiations will officially begin between the unions and the labor confederations to define how much the minimum wage should be for next year and little by little proposals are arriving from various sectors, which on the one hand ask to think about the workers, but for the other that Do not overlook the economic reality that the Nation has been going through for several years.

The most recent came from the Externado University of Colombia, where after analyzing the economic situation of the country, mainly with indicators such as inflation and economic growth, they proposed that during the negotiation between companies, unions and the National Government, a technical conversation, which gathers the points of view of all those interested in the increase.

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Juan Pablo Herrera, dean of the Faculty of Economics, highlighted that this will be a very important moment for the country, taking into account the recent history and the need to continue paving the way for the monetary authorities to lower interest rates and so that the economy can reactivate quickly.

“A critical moment begins for the Colombian economy and it is the negotiation of the minimum wage for 2025. Today the workers’ confederations are talking about an increase of at least 10%. I believe that here, from the academy, it is very important to highlight two components. The first of them is that the idea of ​​updating the minimum wage is to guarantee that Colombian workers do not lose purchasing power,” he explained.

Herrera Saavedra said that it must be recognized that there is less inflationary pressure and that thanks to this the country’s economy will breathe, so the increase that is agreed upon or issued by decree should not become a factor that leads to loss. everything earned thanks to the sacrifices made this year.

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“A greater increase in the minimum wage implies that all products and all goods or services that are traded in the economy and that are indexed in minimum wages will necessarily increase,” said the Dean of Economics at the Externado. who was insistent that the country is at a crucial moment to set the course to follow.

Take care of informality

On the other hand, Juan Pablo Herrera put labor informality on the table and said that it is a problem that should not be ignored, since more than half of Colombians are affected by it and it is a reality that becomes complicated when the country goes to the regions, where opportunities are scarcer.

Informality.

Juan Pablo Rueda / EL TIEMPO

“In Colombia we have more than half of the population in the informal sector. The figure is close to 54% in the national consolidated, but reaches levels of 80% in deep Colombia. The great challenge we have is to guarantee that these minimum wage increases do not destroy new jobs,” he said.

With this approach, he noted that “small, micro and medium-sized companies in Colombia need to continue operating and it will be very important that in the dialogue and in the conciliation and agreement of each of the objectives of setting the minimum wage, they are taken into account. precisely those elements.”

Finally, this academic trusts that the decision that is announced will be concerted and that at all costs the increase will be avoided by decree, since he considers that Colombians are living in a moment where the most important It is the generation of trust and thinking that the future is built together.