Meanwhile, the opposition questioned the fact that, despite the good increase, this would not be reflected in the pockets of Colombians, as the increase in food, inputs and dollar prices above 4,000 pesos is constantly increasing. The interprofessional minimum wage (SMI) is the amount of the minimum wage, or the value of the minimum wage, that an employee receives for the legal working day, regardless of the type of contract he has. Thus, on December 29, 2020, the national government, in the exercise of its legal powers and in the absence of consultation, issued Decree 1785 of 2020, which, as of January 1, 2021, established the applicable monthly minimum wage of NINE HUNDRED EIGHT THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIX THOUSAND PESOS (COP $ 908,526). Therefore, the minimum wage increase was equal to the 3.5% set for 2020, or the sum of THIRTY THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED AND TWENTY-THREE PESOS (COP $ 30,723). For economist Martín Jaramillo, the more the minimum wage increases by percentage points next year, the longer it will take for the economy to recover the jobs lost during the pandemic. If you add the actual minimum wage increases during President Duque`s term (i.e. 2.82% of the real increase in 2019, 2.2% in 2020 and now that 2% in 2021), the actual increase during his term amounts to 7%. (see graph) On December 29, 2020, the national government issued Decree 1786 of 2020, which establishes legal transportation assistance of one hundred and six thousand four hundred and fifty-four pesos (COP 106,454) per month as of January 1, 2021, for workers earning up to two (2) legal monthly minimum wages. “This 3.5% increase in SMMLV and transport subsidies for 2021 is more than double the inflation at the end of 2020 (1.5%).

It is necessary to maintain the balance between purchasing power and the protection and creation of new jobs,” Duque said in a tweet this morning. The minimum wage for 2022 was 1,000,000 pesos (one million pesos) with a transport subsidy of 117,172 pesos (1,117,172 pesos + transport assistance) and was agreed between the unions, unions and the national government on 13 and 14 December. With the December 14, 2021 MRT, the minimum wage in Colombia in 2022 is equivalent to $257.28 ($287.42 including transportation subsidy). The interprofessional minimum wage for 2022 in Colombia has been set at €220.9 per month, or €2,651 per year, taking into account that 12 annual payments are taken into account, which is the usual distribution of the annual salary in most countries. 15. December 2021, by Decree 1724 of 2021, the national government set the increase in the legal monthly minimum wage applicable for the year 2022 at 10.07%, or COP$91,474. Thus, the current legal monthly minimum wage as of January 1, 2022 is COP$1,000,000. For its part, the Labour Chamber of the Supreme Court, in judgments such as SL 12213 of 1999 and SL 11681 of 2015, has developed an opposite thesis, according to which, apart from the minimum wage, there is no legal basis for the employer to unilaterally make an annual adjustment for employees earning higher wages. In fact, this position was accepted by the Ministry of Labour through Concept No. 359772 of 2008, in which the company considered that the increase in these wages could be made by mutual agreement between the parties to the employment contract, but not on the basis of legal regulations. 29.

In December 2020, the national government issued Decree 1785 of 2020, which sets the legal monthly minimum wage at COP$908,526 as of January 1, 2021. Transportation legal aid for people earning less than two minimum wages was $117,172 Given the economic and health crisis triggered by the global COVID-19 pandemic, 2021 is perhaps one of the years where there has been more speculation in Colombia about raising the legal minimum wage and assisting with transportation. In accordance with article 56 of the Constitution and Act No. 278 of 1996, the Standing Consultation Committee for Wage and Labour Policy, composed of representatives of employers, employees and the national Government, must try to determine these amounts, which are the cornerstone of the country`s economic functioning, by consensus.