Labor reform promoted by Gustavo Petro falls in the Colombian Congress

A labor reform project, one of the banners of the government of Colombian President Gustavo Petro, failed on Tuesday in the Colombian Congress due to lack of a quorum in a legislative commission.

The rejected bill sought to improve the conditions of workers by paying a nighttime surcharge from 6 pm, increasing remuneration for working on Sundays and holidays, and increasing compensation for unfair dismissal.

The president regretted the collapse, saying on his Twitter account that “it is very serious” and that “it shows that the desire for peace and a social pact does not exist in economic power.”

“Owners of capital and the media managed to co-opt Congress against the dignity of the working people,” he added.

The labor reform is the first social reform of the government that falls. Two other proposals to the health and pension system are advancing in their process in the Colombian legislature.

The government could present the labor reform to extra sessions that Petro announced will be called, or to the next legislature, which begins on July 20.

The collapse of the labor reform occurred after massive marches on Tuesday in the main cities of Colombia in rejection of Petro’s political, economic and social reforms.

[Con información de Reuters]

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