Colombia: The Labour Reform Bill Approved in its First Debate in Congress

The labour reform bill is proceeding, has currently been approved by the House of Representatives, and now starts the debate in the Senate.

During the bill debate, 39 articles were approved with some modifications, which include: setting paternity leave at 6 weeks; increasing severances by more than 50%; night recharges starting at 7 p.m.; and other changes. However, the final project excluded the main modifications in collective matters.

Furthermore, some innovative articles that were not in the original text were included, such as:

• Support from the Ministry of Labour for micro and small enterprises.
• An increase in 18 business days of vacation for private security guards.
• New regulations related to social protection for delivery platform workers.

This labour reform bill aims to improve the working conditions of employees, despite resulting in a significant increase in costs for employers, including surcharges, severance payments, limitations on the use of fixed-term contracts, and various other measures.