The Colombian Congress approves the labor reform and Petro withdraws its “decreon”: what changes for workers?

- Author, Writing
- Author's title, BBC News World
June 20, 2025

The Colombian Congress approved on Friday the labor reform promoted by Gustavo Petro's government.

This is a political victory for the president, who had recently tensioned his relations with Congress by decreeing a popular consultation to ask citizens whether or not they agreed with the measures contemplated in the reform.

Petro's “decretazo”, as he was called, was very controversial, because Congress had rejected the idea of making a popular consultation. Petro, in what some analysts and experts considered a break of the constitutional order, ordered it by decree.

Once the reform approval was given this Friday, on the last day that Congress had to do so, the president celebrated it in his X account and announced that he will withdraw the controversial decree.

“The working people of Colombia have won their first victory after 34 years,” he wrote.

He added: “Since the labor reform is law, I will repeal the decree that calls the popular consultation, which is no longer necessary.”

Colombia Congress — Photo foot, Gustavo Petro's government had been promoting a labor reform for two years.

The benefits of reform

The legislative process of the labor reform had failed several times, but the Senate decided to revive it a month ago in the same session in which he opposed the popular consultation.

The new law returns to the formal workers benefits they had lost with the labor reform that was approved during the first government of Álvaro Uribe.

These benefits have to do, for example, with the compensation they receive for working on Sundays and holidays, the overtime and the type of contract that SENA apprentices have (National Learning Service), a huge public institution of education for work.

For entrepreneurs' unions and some opposition politicians, those benefits excessively increase the load on employers and can lead to greater unemployment and informality.

To the Government's victory, it is added that the Constitutional Court saved the pension reform, which had already been approved by Congress but ran the risk of sinking for a process of process.

This reform will have to be approved once again by the House of Representatives, where Petro has majorities, so a new legislative triumph for the Government in the coming weeks is expected.

Antonio Sanguino, Minister of Labor of Colombia — Photo foot, The Minister of Labor, Antonio Sanguino, celebrates the approval of the labor reform.

The changes

Some of the benefits granted to workers approved this Friday are:

SENA students (about 8 million Colombians a year) will have a employment contract with the companies in which they carry out their practices, and not a learning contract, as until now. This implies that they will accrue a complete salary, receive social benefits and accumulate work experience.

The extra hours will begin to count (and therefore, to compensate as such) from 7 pm, and not of the 9 pm as until now.

The hours worked on Sundays and holidays will have a 100% surcharge (that is, the workers will be paid for them twice what they earn during the week). The previous regulations contemplated a 75%surcharge.

Fixed term workers cannot be used for more than 4 years. If a company hires the same person for a period of one year for 4 consecutive years, that worker's contract immediately becomes indefinite. That will allow these workers to access the benefits involved in accumulating seniority in the same company, such as obtaining greater compensation in case of unjustified dismissal.

60,000 community mothers, substitutes and workers of children's households throughout the country will have formal job.

A ballot?

Gustavo Petro — Photo foot, Petro came to the presidency with an agenda of “social reforms” that, with many stumbling blocks, has managed to advance.

In his tweet in which he celebrated the approval of the reform, Petro added that “a ballot will be delivered to convene the National Constituent Assembly in the next elections.”

Petro has defended several times throughout his mandate the idea of convening a National Constituent Assembly (an instance to write a new Constitution).

For now, it is not clear what its proposal will be translated to include a “ballot” in the 2026 elections, but has already caused the resounding rejection of opposition politicians, which qualify it as “absurd” and “unconstitutional”.

The idea of a “ballot” reminds the Citizen Movement that in 1990 promoted that people lead to the urn a role to “vote” by a constituent assembly.

Although the ballots were not legal validity, that movement began the path that led to a new Constitution, that of 1991.

Before the 2026 elections, Petro's government still has a political fight to give: its health reform, which has sunk several times in Congress and faces a determined citizen opposition.