Parliamentary debates still echo in the background. Colombia finally has its labor reform—a reform that is by no means detached from its broader context. It is an ideologically and politically charged reform that, from the outset, fails to look toward the 21st century.

Seventy-seven articles were debated, and 68 were approved, shaping a labor reform with both strengths and shortcomings.

At a global moment when there is broad discussion on how to make learning and employability more dynamic in response to the rapid pace of technological change, this reform modifies apprenticeship contracts, turning them into special fixed-term employment contracts starting from the academic phase.

Moreover, beginning July 15, the standard workweek will be reduced from 46 to 44 hours, increasing the hourly cost for employers.

There will also be a progressive increase in Sunday pay, rising from the current 75% premium to 100% by 2027.

New paid leave provisions will come into force, along with mandatory hiring quotas for people with disabilities.

These and other measures mean that, overall, the reform brings benefits to those in formal employment while significantly increasing costs for companies. It appears to overlook the fact that the majority of Colombians work in the informal sector.

This is a reform that adds rigidity and discourages formalization in a labor market that is desperately calling for flexibility and formal employment.

However, the reform does recognize the contribution of temporary staffing firms to formal, flexible employment. This is no minor development in a country where different forms of labor outsourcing were previously undistinguished. Law 50 of 1990 governs the assignment of temporary workers through registered firms with the sole purpose of providing a professional and formal response to the labor market’s transitional needs. Among the various forms of outsourcing, the only organized sector—with representation and legitimate stakeholders for social dialogue—is that of temporary staffing firms.

The active participation of the sector, represented by ACOSET, in upcoming debates on the reform’s regulatory framework will be vital to Colombia’s economic and social future.

It is essential to design formalization pathways with flexibility that do not suffocate Colombia’s productive fabric.

Colombia must promote entrepreneurship and support businesses in order to return its economy to previous levels of growth. For this, it is imperative that its labor market becomes more dynamic, modern, and formal.

This is an open-ended process. The next developments will be crucial in determining whether Colombia implements a labor reform fit for 21st-century work—or remains anchored in a 20th-century regulatory framework.

Photo of Stefano Garay in Unsplash