Colombia's Senate approves labor reform amid tension with Petro
BOGOTA - Colombia's Senate on Tuesday approved a modified and much-debated labor reform bill, after President Gustavo Petro decreed a referendum to seek direct approval from voters for the initiative.
The bill, which includes measures to enshrine an eight-hour daytime work day, increase weekend and holiday pay and require social security payments from delivery app drivers, was approved by 57 lawmakers, while 31 opposed it.
Petro decreed the 12-question referendum last week, in a bid to force the Senate to vote on the reform before the end of its session on June 20 and in defiance of his political opposition, who say the vote would disregard institutional norms and threaten Colombia's separation of powers.
Lawmakers in May rejected the referendum in a tight 49 to 47 vote. Petro said that vote was fraudulent and decreed the referendum take place.
"The government is satisfied, we have managed, vote by vote, article by article, a new democratic, progressive labor legislation," Labor Minister Antonio Sanguino said.
The approved reform will immediately increase wages for work conducted from 7 p.m. onward and gradually increase the surcharge for Sunday and holiday work through July 2027.
Under the law, workers for popular delivery apps like Rappi, who are independent contractors, will be required to make social security contributions.
Meanwhile, the apps will be barred from demanding exclusivity from contractors and must provide human supervision of their algorithms.
Analysts' estimates for increased labor costs as a result of the bill range from 6.8% to 35%. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
35 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Ukraine's drones damage power infrastructure in Sergiyev Posad near Moscow, Russia says
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Ukraine launched a drone attack on the Sergiyev Posad district near Moscow early on Friday, injuring one person and damaging power infrastructure, the head of the district said. "I ask everyone to remain calm, not to approach the windows, not to photograph the work of the air defence," Oksana Yerokhanova wrote in a post on the Telegram messaging app. She said that at least four explosions were recorded throughout the district - some 75 km (47 miles) from the Kremlin - and that a power substation was damaged, leaving parts of the district without electricity. The district's administrative centre, the town of Sergiyev Posad, is considered the religious centre of the Moscow Region and a spiritual heart of Russia's Orthodox Church. The city's monastery, the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius that was founded in the 14th century, is a UNESCO World Heritage site. In the southern Russian region of Rostov a woman was killed as a result of Ukraine's drone attack, which damaged several apartment buildings and forced the evacuation of scores of people from their homes, the acting governor of the region said on Friday. The scale of the attack on Russia was not immediately known. There was no comment from Ukraine. Kyiv says that its attacks inside Russia are aimed at destroying infrastructure key to Moscow's war efforts and are in response to continuous Russian strikes on Ukraine. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Seller's stamp duty rates for private homes raised; holding period increased from 3 years to 4 Asia Japan urges evacuation of small island as 1,000 quakes hit region Singapore Multiple charges for man accused of damaging PAP campaign materials on GE2025 Polling Day Singapore Jail for man who recruited 2 Japanese women for prostitution at MBS World Trump eyes simple tariff rates over complex talks, says letters will start going out on July 4 World Trump's sweeping tax-cut and spending Bill wins congressional approval Asia Indonesian rescuers widen search for missing after ferry sinks Business More Singapore residents met CPF Required Retirement Sum when they turned 55 in 2024 Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Russia launched with a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. But thousands of civilians have died in the conflict, the vast majority of them Ukrainian. REUTERS
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Indonesia resumes search for 30 missing ferry passengers
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Indonesia rescue team members sail on dinghies during a search operation for missing passengers, after the KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya ferry carrying 65 people sank near the Indonesian island of Bali, in Bali, Indonesia, July 3, 2025. REUTERS/Johannes P. Christo GILIMANUK, Indonesia - Indonesian rescuers are battling strong currents on Friday as they resume the search for 30 people still missing at sea about 35 hours after a ferry sank killing at least six people, officials said. The ferry named KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya was carrying 65 people, all Indonesians, when it sank about 30 minutes after setting sail from East Java bound for the holiday island of Bali on Wednesday night, said search and rescue agency official Ribut Eko Suyatno. Twenty-nine survivors were rescued on Thursday before the search was called off due to poor visibility. Dayu Made Silawati, 55, said her husband, Dewa Gede Adyana Putra Usia, was travelling on the ferry to pick up supplies in Bali for his job as a truck driver. Waiting for news at a rescue centre in Bali, she said the last time she spoke to him was on Wednesday night. "'I just got on the ship,'" she recalled him saying. "I said to him, 'be careful', dear." At 4 a.m. on Thursday, Silawati said she called him again, and again. There was no answer. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Seller's stamp duty rates for private homes raised; holding period increased from 3 years to 4 Asia Japan urges evacuation of small island as 1,000 quakes hit region Singapore Multiple charges for man accused of damaging PAP campaign materials on GE2025 Polling Day Singapore Jail for man who recruited 2 Japanese women for prostitution at MBS World Trump eyes simple tariff rates over complex talks, says letters will start going out on July 4 World Trump's sweeping tax-cut and spending Bill wins congressional approval Asia Indonesian rescuers widen search for missing after ferry sinks Business More Singapore residents met CPF Required Retirement Sum when they turned 55 in 2024 Rescue operations resumed on Friday in the waters of Bali Strait involving ships, helicopters, and hundreds of rescuers, Eko said. Strong currents and rain are expected. Transportation safety investigators would probe the cause of the sinking when the search is over, officials said. The ferry was not overloaded when it went down, officials said on Thursday. Ferries are a common mode of transportation in Indonesia, a nation of over 17,000 islands, and lax safety standards allow vessels to be overcrowded with inadequate life-saving equipment. REUTERS
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
US, Colombia recall top diplomats as rift deepens
WASHINGTON: The United States and Colombia called home their respective envoys on Thursday (Jul 3) in an apparent acceleration of worsening ties, against the backdrop of an alleged plot against Colombia's leftist leader. Washington went first, recalling its charge d'affaires John McNamara "following baseless and reprehensible statements from the highest levels of the Government of Colombia", State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said, without giving specifics. In addition to McNamara's recall, Bruce said the United States "is pursuing other measures to make clear our deep concern over the current state of our bilateral relationship". She did not detail the actions. Within hours, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced he was calling home his top diplomat in Washington in response. Ambassador Daniel Garcia Pena "must come to inform us of the development of the bilateral agenda", Petro wrote on X, such as tapping South America's "great potential for clean energy" and the fight against "drug lords and their international finances". The diplomatic spat came on the heels of the resignation of Colombia's foreign minister earlier Thursday - the latest top-ranking official to exit Petro's government. "In recent days, decisions have been made that I do not agree with and that, out of personal integrity and institutional respect, I cannot support," Laura Sarabia, who was also Petro's former chief of staff, wrote on X. PLOT INVESTIGATION Colombia was until recently one of the United States's closest partners in Latin America. But ties have sharply deteriorated. Colombian prosecutors opened an investigation this week into an alleged plot to overthrow Petro with the help of Colombian and American politicians, following the publication by the Spanish daily El Pais of recordings implicating former foreign minister Alvaro Leyva. "This is nothing more than a conspiracy with drug traffickers and apparently, the Colombian and American extreme right," Petro said on Monday. During a speech in Bogota on Thursday, Petro said he did not think US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whom he had previously linked to the alleged overthrow attempt, was "in the midst of a coup d'etat" against his government. "I don't believe that a government that has Iran as its enemy and nuclear weapons pointed at it ... is going to start fooling around with a coup d'etat" in Colombia, he said. In late January, the United States briefly suspended consular services to retaliate for Petro's refusal to allow US military planes to return Colombian migrants to their homeland. Petro accused the United States of treating the migrants like criminals, placing them in shackles and handcuffs. The pair issued threats and counter threats of crippling trade tariffs of up to 50 per cent. A backroom diplomatic deal involving the deployment of Colombian Air Force planes to collect the migrants averted a looming trade war at the eleventh hour.
