Colombia’s Wage War Hits the Table Today

At 10 AM this Monday, Labor Minister Antonio Sanguino will open the most consequential wage negotiation of Gustavo Petro’s presidency. Across the table will sit the same employers and union leaders who failed to reach a deal in December — the deadlock that led Petro to decree a 23% minimum wage hike by executive order, the largest in decades, which Colombia’s highest administrative court froze three days ago. This is part of The Rio Times’ daily coverage of Colombia affairs and Latin American financial news.

The gap between the two sides is enormous. Employers, represented by ANDI and the small-business federation Acopi, are coming with roughly 7% — aligned with the macroeconomic criteria the court demanded: inflation (5.3% in 2025), productivity, and GDP growth. Petro, in a nationally televised address on Saturday, made clear he has no intention of accepting that math. He argued January inflation of just 0.25% proves the wage increase is not driving prices, blamed rising food costs on interest rates and seasonal factors, and said the new decree will preserve the “living wage” concept rooted in ILO standards.

Colombia’s Minimum Wage Decree Suspended

The Council of State’s February 13 suspension was unprecedented — no Colombian court had ever frozen a minimum wage decree. Seventeen lawsuits argued the 23% jump, four times the inflation rate, was imposed without the economic justification required by Law 278 of 1996. The court gave the government eight calendar days to issue a replacement grounded in those criteria and explicitly barred it from reproducing the suspended decree. Petro’s team plans to appeal the ruling and has hinted it may need more than eight days.

The stakes reach far beyond the 2.4 million Colombians who earn exactly one minimum wage. The figure indexes pensions, social security, fines, and government fees — meaning any shift cascades through the economy. The central bank has already raised its 2026 inflation forecast from 4.6% to 6.4%, and Acopi’s president noted that employers who already adjusted payrolls to the 23% rate cannot legally reverse course.

With Petro’s term ending this year and presidential campaigning underway, the wage fight is as much electoral as economic. Interior Minister Benedetti has already framed the court ruling as a class war. Whatever number emerges from today’s meeting will signal whether Petro’s final months are defined by confrontation or concession.

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