The Colombian Minister of Labor, Antonio Sanguino, stated on Monday that the government will maintain the 23.7% increase in the minimum wage in a transitional decree that must be presented after the Council of State suspended the administrative act that increased this remuneration. 'The shared position is to maintain the increase to avoid uncertainty in the labor world and in the economy. The government reiterates its decision to comply with the ruling and issue a transitional decree in the terms ordered by the Council of State,' the minister expressed during a press conference in Bogotá. The Council of State, the highest administrative court, provisionally suspended last Friday the decree that set the minimum wage for 2026 at two million pesos (about 546 dollars), including transportation assistance, and ordered the issuance of a transitional norm while it makes a final decision on the increase decreed by President Gustavo Petro's government. Sanguino indicated that both unions and the majority of employer guilds present at the meeting convened by the government's Salary and Labor Policy Concertation Commission spoke in favor of maintaining the increase. 'We can say that on both sides of the table there is a majority opinion in favor of maintaining the 23.7% increase of the vital salary,' affirmed the minister, who described this stance as 'good news for the workers of Colombia.' The official explained that the objective is to avoid alterations in the labor market, given that the salary increase 'has already been incorporated into the business dynamics and both in the income and expenses of families.' Petro said on Sunday during an address that the new transitional decree will maintain the so-called 'vital salary' set at two million pesos, although he did not rule out that this figure could be modified based on new economic studies. The head of state added that he will present additional technical analyses to meet the requirements of the Council of State and reiterated that the minimum wage is a 'mobile' remuneration, so it could vary according to economic conditions. In addition, he called on Colombians to meet this Thursday in the country's public squares to defend the salary increase, considering it a 'historic conquest' of workers.
