Overview
- The Consejo de Estado suspended Petro’s December decree raising the minimum wage by roughly 23–23.7% and instructed the government to set a transitory rate based on inflation, productivity, GDP growth and job protection within eight days of Feb. 13 notification.
- The government filed a reconsideration appeal seeking to reverse the suspension but says it will abide by the ruling as multiple legal challenges are reviewed.
- Labor Minister Antonio Sanguino said the forthcoming provisional decree will keep the 23.7% increase, describing coordination with the finance ministry to meet the court’s requirements.
- Responding to Petro’s call, thousands gathered on Feb. 19 in Bogotá’s Plaza de Bolívar and in other cities to defend the “salario vital” and protest the suspension.
- Trade unions support maintaining the full increase, while business groups including Fenalco warn of risks to small and mid‑size firms and potential job losses; about 2.4 million workers earn the minimum wage and roughly 55% of workers are informal.