Colombia's Senate approves labor bill that would mean more pay, protections for workers
BOGOTA, Colombia, June 18, (AP): Colombia's Senate on Tuesday night approved a labor bill that is expected to grant workers more overtime pay while making it harder for companies to hire employees on short-term contracts. The bill's approval comes as tensions have been increasing between the Senate and President Gustavo Petro over reforms to the economy and health system that have polarized the nation's politics and tested the separation of powers in Colombia's fragile democracy.
Petro has repeatedly accused Congress of blocking his reforms and last week issued a decree that called on Colombia's elections agency, the National Registrar, to organize a referendum on labor laws. The agency said Tuesday it would wait for Colombian courts to decide if it was legal for it to organize the referendum, because the Senate had voted against the referendum last month.
Petro has threatened to change Colombia's constitution, by calling for a constituent assembly, if his request for a referendum on labor laws is not granted, and in a post on X Tuesday, said that those who did not approve the referendum were committing "treason." Opposition leaders have accused the president of developing an authoritarian streak, as he tries to override decisions made by Congress.
The labor bill approved by Colombia's Senate on Tuesday includes many of the changes to Colombia's labor laws proposed by Petro's party, the Historical Pact. It increases surcharges paid to employees who work Sundays and also makes companies pay more for late evening shifts, which is likely to apply to many retailers, restaurants and hotels.
The bill also says delivery apps must formally hire delivery workers as freelancers or as full-time employees and help to pay for their health insurance. Business associations in Colombia oppose the changes, arguing they will raise the cost of employing people and could ultimately increase unemployment. Currently, 56% of Colombian workers labor with no contracts, in what is known as the informal economy.
Economists expect the reforms to push more people into informality, while supporters of the bill argue they are just pushing for the restoration of rights workers had in the early 1990s, before Colombia began to make labor laws more flexible. The Senate and House of Representatives must now reconcile the differences in the bills each chamber drafted and then agree on a final version of the bill. Petro wrote in a message on X that he will continue to push for the referendum until legislators from both chambers have voted on a final bill.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab Times
16 hours ago
- Arab Times
Air India faces turbulence as plane crash prompts deeper checks and disruptions
NEW DELHI, June 18, (AP): Air India is facing fresh turbulence following last week's fatal crash as additional safety inspections on its Dreamliner fleet have led to flight delays, cancellations, and growing passenger anxiety. India's aviation safety regulator ordered deeper checks on Boeing 787 aircraft operated by the airline soon after its London-bound flight crashed during take-off in Ahmedabad city June 12, killing at least 270 people, including 241 passengers and crew. The precautionary inspections, including closure of airspace in some middle eastern countries, have strained Air India operations across domestic and international routes. Since the crash, Air India has cancelled operations of a total of 83 wide-body flights, including 66 Dreamliner, according to data shared by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, India's aviation safety regulator. "There is a cascading impact operationally. We are being extra cautious and doing extra checks beyond the usual,' a company executive familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity as he wasn't authorized to speak to the media. The company on Tuesday announced cancellation of multiple flights, including one from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick. Another from Delhi to Paris was cancelled as a mandatory pre-flight check identified an unidentified issue, the airline said in a statement. In a statement Tuesday, the aviation directorate said surveillance conducted on Air India's Dreamliner fleet so far has found no "major safety concerns.' The aircraft and its associated maintenance systems were found to be compliant with existing safety standards, the directorate said, adding that of the 33 aircraft, 24 have completed the inspections, while four were undergoing long-term maintenance. The rest were expected to finish the safety checks soon. The regulator, however, raised concerns about maintenance-related issues reported by the airline and advised it to "strictly adhere to regulations.' It asked Air India to strengthen internal coordination across engineering, operations, and ground handling units and ensure adequate availability of spares to mitigate flight delays. Experts from India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau are probing the crash with assistance from the U.K., the U.S., and officials from Boeing. Aviation experts say the crash poses a temporary challenge for Air India, which was in midst of transforming itself from a financially troubled airline to a profitable venture. "If you ask me whether the accident will derail the ambitious growth plans, no way. There can be no looking back,' said Jitender Bhargava, a former Air India executive director. The company already has placed huge orders for new aircraft to expand operations. The present challenge was to boost the morale of employees and passengers through confidence-building measures, Bhargava said. "The faster you make people forget this one-off accident, the better it is,' Bhargava said. Indian conglomerate Tata Sons took over Air India in 2022, returning the debt-saddled national carrier to private ownership after decades of government control. The $2.4 billion deal was seen as the government's effort to sell off a loss-making, state-run businesses. It also was in some ways a homecoming for Air India, which was launched by the Tata family in 1932. Since the takeover, Air India has ordered hundreds of new planes worth over $70 billion, redesigned its branding and livery and absorbed smaller airlines Tata held stakes in. The company additionally has committed millions of dollars to digital overhauls of aircraft and refurbishing interiors of more than five dozen legacy planes. Air India has ordered nearly three dozen trainer aircraft and set up one of South Asia's largest training academy for professionals.
Arab Times
16 hours ago
- Arab Times
Iran's supreme leader rejects call to surrender as Israel strikes Tehran
TEHRAN, Iran, June 18, (AP): Explosions were heard in Iran's capital as Israeli warplanes pounded Tehran overnight and into Wednesday. Less than a week into the conflict, Israel says its aircraft have free rein over the city's skies. Iran launched a small barrage of missiles at Israel with no reports of casualties, and Israel has eased some restrictions for civilians. Meanwhile, fear has gripped the Iranian capital as the streets are empty, businesses closed, and communications patchy at best. Thousands have fled. Iran's supreme leader on Wednesday rejected U.S. calls for surrender and warned that any military involvement by the Americans would cause "irreparable damage' to them. U.S. President Donald Trump initially distanced himself from Israel's surprise attack on Friday that triggered the conflict, but in recent days has hinted at greater American involvement, saying he wants something "much bigger' than a ceasefire. The U.S. has also sent more military aircraft and warships to the region. Late Wednesday afternoon, internet access across Iran crashed. Authorities offered no immediate explanation. Just after 4 p.m. local time, a likely Israeli airstrike sent a giant plume of gray smoke skyward in the eastern reaches of Tehran. It wasn't immediately clear what was targeted. Israel is easing some restrictions for civilians that have frozen the country in place over the past week, the military announced on Wednesday, six days into the confrontation with Iran. While schools are still closed, people will begin returning to workplaces where there is access to shelters. Restrictions are being eased further in areas along Israel's periphery, which have been targeted fewer times than the country's center. "This decision to gradually open the economy in the various regions is a message of victory over the Iranian enemy,' Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday. Iran has fired fewer missiles as the conflict has worn on, allowing Israeli air defense systems greater accuracy with interceptions. State television has aired footage of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei giving a statement that was read out by a TV anchor a short while ago. The footage strikingly contrasted against the high-quality recording typically produced of his speeches, with his voice echoing as he sat in a room with beige curtains behind him. A portrait of Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who Khamenei succeeded, was over his left shoulder, with an Iranian flag to his right. Khamenei warned the United States that joining the Israeli strikes targeting the Islamic Republic will "result in irreparable damage for them.' Germany's foreign minister has underlined European countries' willingness to talk to Iran about a solution to the crisis over its nuclear program. But he says there needs to be movement from Tehran. Johann Wadephul said Wednesday that "it is never too late to come to the negotiating table, if you come with honest intentions.' He spoke two days after he held a call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi along with his French and British counterparts and the European Union foreign policy chief. Wadephul said the European officials made clear that their countries -- which were part of Iran's 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers -- "still stand ready to negotiate on a solution.' But he added that "Iran must now move urgently. Iran must take confidence-building and verifiable measures,' including a credible statement that Tehran is not striving for a nuclear weapon. The European Union has helped evacuated about 400 its citizens out of Israel via Jordan and Egypt as part of its efforts to coordinate emergency response to the conflict within the 27 nations of the bloc. "Up till now, we have an estimate that over 400 EU citizens were repatriated via this civil protection mechanism of the EU,' said Eva Hrncirova in Brussels on Wednesday. She said the EU was fielding requests by Slovakia, Lithuania, Greece, and Poland for assistance in evacuating from the Middle East. "Member states coordinate the list and we co-finance these flights up to the 75% of the transport costs,' she said. Iran's supreme leader has warned the United States that joining the Israeli strikes targeting the Islamic Republic will "result in irreparable damage for them.'
Arab Times
20 hours ago
- Arab Times
New Israeli strikes hit Tehran as Iran warns that US involvement would risk 'all-out war'
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, June 18, (AP): Israeli warplanes pounded Iran's capital overnight and into Wednesday as Iran launched a small barrage of missiles at Israel with no reports of casualties. An Iranian official warned Wednesday that that any U.S. intervention in the conflict would risk "all-out war.' Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei delivered the warning in an interview with Al Jazeera English, saying "any American intervention would be a recipe for an all-out war in the region.' He did not elaborate, but thousands of American troops are based in nearby countries within range of Iran's weapons. The U.S. has threatened a massive response to any attack. The latest Israeli strikes hit a facility used to make uranium centrifuges and another that made missile components, the Israeli military said. It said it had intercepted 10 missiles overnight as Iran's retaliatory barrages diminish. Israel's blistering attacks on Iran's nuclear program and military sites began with a surprise bombardment on Friday. A Washington-based Iranian human rights group said at least 585 people, including 239 civilians, have been killed and more than 1,300 wounded. Iran has fired some 400 missiles and hundreds of drones in retaliatory strikes that have killed at least 24 people in Israel and wounded hundreds. Some have hit apartment buildings in central Israel, causing heavy damage, and air raid sirens have repeatedly forced Israelis to run for shelter. Iran has fired fewer missiles as the conflict has worn on. It has not explained the decline, but it comes after Israel has targeted launchers and other infrastructure related to the missiles. All eyes are on Washington, where President Donald Trump initially distanced himself from the Israeli attacks but has hinted at greater U.S. involvement, saying he wants something "much bigger' than a ceasefire. The U.S. has also sent more warplanes to the region. The Washington-based group Human Rights Activists said it had identified 239 of those killed in Israeli strikes as civilians and 126 as security personnel. The group, which also provided detailed casualty figures during 2022 protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, crosschecks local reports against a network of sources it has developed in the country. Iran has not been publishing regular death tolls during the conflict and has minimized casualties in the past. Its last update, issued Monday, put the death toll at 224 people killed and 1,277 others wounded. Shops have been closed across Iran's capital, Tehran, including in its famed Grand Bazaar, as people wait in gas lines and pack roads leading out of the city to escape the onslaught. A major explosion could be heard around 5 a.m. in Tehran Wednesday morning, following other explosions that boomed earlier in the predawn darkness. Authorities in Iran offered no acknowledgement of the attacks, which has become increasingly common as the Israeli airstrikes have intensified. At least one strike appeared to target Tehran's eastern neighborhood of Hakimiyeh, where the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has an academy. Israel says it launched the strikes to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon, after talks between the United States and Iran over a diplomatic resolution had made little visible progress over two months but were still ongoing. Trump has said Israel's campaign came after a 60-day window he set for the talks. Iran long has insisted its nuclear program was peaceful, though it is the only non-nuclear-armed state to enrich uranium up to 60%, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. U.S. intelligence agencies have said they did not believe Iran was actively pursuing the bomb. As the conflict entered a sixth day, neither side showed signs of backing down. "We will show the Zionists no mercy,' Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said in a post on his official X account. "A storm is passing over Tehran,' Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz posted. "This is how dictatorships collapse.' Trump demanded "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER' in a post on social media and warned Khamenei that the U.S. knows where he is hiding but that there were no plans to kill him "at least not for now.' Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke about the evolving situation over the phone on Tuesday, according to a White House official. Iran offered no immediate response to the president's posts, but the country's military leaders vowed that Israel would soon see more attacks. "The operations carried out so far have been solely for the purpose of warning and deterrence,' Gen. Abdul Rahim Mousavi, the commander in chief of Iran's army, said in a video. "The punishment operation will be carried out soon.' Israelis began returning to the country on flights for the first time since the country's international airport shut down at the start of the conflict. Two flights from Larnaca, Cyprus, landed at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport on Wednesday morning, said Lisa Dvir, an airport spokesperson. Israel closed its airspace to commercial flights because of the ballistic missile attacks, leaving tens of thousands of Israelis stranded abroad. The conflict has disrupted flight patterns across the region.
