Colombian President Petro Increases Minimum Wage by 9.54 Percent
Colombian peso bills. X/ @Elpublicotv
December 25, 2024 Hour: 10:12 am
‘The minimum wage does drive economic growth. With enslaved workers, a country’s economy does not grow,’ he stated.
On Tuesday, Colombian President Gustavo Petro decreed a 9.54 percent increase in the country’s minimum wage. Starting January 1, the minimum wage will rise from 1,300,000 to to 1,423,500 Colombian pesos, that is, from US$294 to US$322.
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“This is an improvement in the standard of living for everyone whose income is tied to the minimum wage,” Petro celebrated as he signed the decree in Zipaquira during an event where he reconnected with several acquaintances in the Bolivar 83 neighborhood, a place of personal significance to him.
The Colombian president also responded to criticism from the business sector regarding the minimum wage increase. Bruce Mac Master, president of the National Business Association of Colombia (ANDI), had argued that the salary hike would bring “a large number of consequences.”
“The minimum wage does drive economic growth. With enslaved workers, a country’s economy does not grow. Your argument, Mr. Bruce, is a sovereign and profound lie. Colombia will grow more,” Petro said.
Previously, on Monday, negotiations between employers and labor unions failed to reach an agreement on the minimum wage increase. Consequently, the Colombian government set the new wage through a decree that will take effect in January.
To defend the increase, Petro also highlighted that Colombia will close the year with an inflation rate of 5%, while food inflation will stand at 2.7%, marking “the largest decline among all member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).”
“We expect inflation next year to reach 3%, which means the minimum wage will see a real increase of 6.54%,” the Colombian president stated. He emphasized that his administration has raised the minimum wage in real terms on three occasions. “We have lifted people out of poverty and hunger. The minimum wage has been rising,” Petro concluded.
teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE
