Colombia: New boost to minimum wage

In Colombia, the minimum wage has been increased by 12%. In 2024, Colombians will receive a monthly salary of more than 1.4 million pesos or about 340 euros. This is a sharp increase wanted and promised by leftist President Gustavo Petro. But listening to the main stakeholders, the employees, it won't be enough.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro (pictured here in April 2023) signed a decree increasing the minimum wage by up to 12% in 2024. AFP - BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI

By: RFI Follow

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With this increase, millions of families will be able to increase their standard of living, President Gustavo Petro said. This is the second minimum wage hike initiated since the beginning of Petro's term in August 2022. This new boost represents double the official level of inflation (5.6%) forecast by the Central Bank, according to the executive.

La @cutcolombia saluda la cifra de incremento #SalarioMinimo2024, anunciada por el Presidente @petrogustavo, de $1.300.000 (12%) más $162.000 de auxilio de transporte (15%), lo que contribuirá al mejoramiento del poder adquisitivo de los trabajadores colombianos pic.twitter.com/U4W9hpCdTo

— Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (@cutcolombia) December 30, 2023 But on the streets of Medellin, there is more talk about the holiday season than about the minimum wage hike. For many Colombians, the increase will not change their daily lives, reports our correspondent, Najet Benrabaa.

This is the case of 19-year-old Isabel Quintero. She works as a waitress in a café and doesn't count on this increase to improve her quality of life. "They're raising wages, and food prices and rents are going up too. The increase does not cover expenses. We can't say that thanks to this increase we will be able to buy meat or more things, or save money. No! Let's go back to where we started. To give you an example, rice is now selling for 4000 pesos, whereas it used to sell for 1500 pesos.

Ledy Guerrera is a lawyer. The 40-year-old is delighted with the increase. But she is convinced that this is not the solution. "There is a lack of real social assistance policies, especially food aid. Food is currently the biggest budget for employees. Raising the minimum wage without assessing it according to the country's productivity index is tantamount to increasing inflation and jeopardizing jobs... »

For the government, this increase should guarantee the purchasing power of employees, but it does not concern the informal sector, which in Colombia represents 58% of workers. More than a third of its population lives in poverty.

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