Colombia's Senate approves labor bill that would mean more pay and protections for workers
BOGOTA, Colombia (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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Insider
2 hours ago
- Business Insider
U.S. Senate passes bill to set up stablecoin regulatory framework, Axios says
The U.S. Senate has passed a bill to set up the first regulatory framework for stablecoins, Axios' Stephen Neukam reports. The GENIUS Act, which has been criticized by many Democrats over corruption concerns surrounding President Trump's growing cryptocurrency empire, was passed with a 68-30 vote, with two GOP members voting no on the legislation, the author says. Publicly traded companies in the space include Bit Digital (BTBT), Bitfarms (BITF), Coinbase (COIN), Core Scientific (CORZ), Greenidge Generation (GREE), Mara Holdings (MARA), Riot Platforms (RIOT), Strategy (MSTR), Stronghold Digital Mining (SDIG) and TeraWulf (WULF). Confident Investing Starts Here:
CBS News
3 hours ago
- CBS News
Senate passes landmark crypto regulation bill with bipartisan support
Washington — The Senate passed a landmark piece of legislation to regulate crypto after a bumpy path through the upper chamber. The bill, known as the GENIUS Act, would establish a regulatory framework for the $250 billion market for stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency tied to the value of an asset like the U.S. dollar. It passed the Senate in a 68 to 30 vote. Speaking on the Senate floor ahead of the vote, Republican Sen. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, who introduced the measure, said the legislation "ushers in a new era of payments." "The prospect of faster and cheaper payments will have far-reaching implications for our financial system," he said Tuesday. "Once the GENIUS Act is law, businesses of all sizes and Americans across the country will be able to settle payments nearly instantaneously, rather than waiting for days or sometimes even weeks. Put simply, stablecoins are a paradigm-shifting development that can bring our payment system into the 21st century." It advanced out of the Senate Banking Committee in March with bipartisan backing, but bled Democratic support weeks later when it was revealed that an Abu Dhabi-backed firm would use $2 billion in stablecoin purchased from Trump family-linked crypto firm, World Liberty Financial, to invest in Binance. Concerns about President Trump and his family's business ventures involving cryptocurrency raised the sense of urgency for Democrats, who pushed for stronger provisions to safeguard against corruption while protecting consumers, the financial system and national security. In early May, Democrats prevented the legislation from advancing, leading to weeks of bipartisan negotiations that resulted in changes that convinced enough Democrats to come back on board and help propel it through several procedural votes. Sen. Bill Hagerty, a Tennessee Republican, speaks at a press conference with other members of the Senate Republican conference, following weekly policy luncheons, in Washington, DC on May 20, 2025. Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images The changes include requiring members of Congress and Executive Branch officials to disclose stablecoin holdings over $5,000, stronger bankruptcy protections for bank depositors and directing the Treasury to issue formal rules for monitoring suspicious transactions. Still, some Democrats say their concerns have not been addressed, and they've complained that they will not have the ability to amend the bill. Although Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, initially planned to allow an open amendment process, he reconsidered after at least one amendment from Republican Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas on credit card transaction fees threatened to sink the bill if adopted. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, was among the bill's top detractors. She helped rally Democrats to sink the bill in the initial vote, arguing that "this weak bill is worse than no bill at all." Before the bill advanced in another procedural vote last week, Warren unsuccessfully called on her colleagues to "show a little spine and insist on amendments as the price for helping advance this bill." More than 100 amendments were offered from Democrats and Republicans on issues ranging from barring the president, vice president and other top government officials from profiting from stablecoin ventures while in office to prohibiting large online platforms from issuing the digital assets. Two Republicans have also consistently voted against the legislation — Republican Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Josh Hawley of Missouri — albeit for different reasons. Paul doesn't see a need for federal regulation of the industry, while Hawley has warned that it cedes too much power to tech giants. Democratic Sen. Kirstin Gillibrand of New York, who worked on the bill, defended the framework as long overdue. "To date, Congress' failure to act has left the digital asset space as a wild West, where American consumers are vulnerable to scams and businesses are desperate for the regulatory clarity they need to compete with foreign countries, foreign entities that do business in our markets, effectively. Doing nothing and protecting the status quo is not only irresponsible, it's unacceptable," she said on the Senate floor last week. Gillibrand acknowledged that Mr. Trump's involvement in the crypto sphere is "extremely unhelpful" but argued it "does not diminish the excellent work in this legislation."
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Solar stocks are plummeting as the Senate version of Trump's 'big beautiful bill' hits clean energy
Solar stocks tumbled on Tuesday, with Solar Edge and First Solar down sharply. The Senate version of the GOP budget bill keeps cuts to clean energy in place. The new government policy would phase out solar and wind energy tax credits. Solar energy stocks plunged for a second day on Tuesday, on news that the Senate version of the budget bill retains cuts to renewable energy tax credits. A US Senate panel has proposed fully phasing out all tax credits for solar and wind energy within the next three years. The development swiftly sent solar energy stocks into free fall, including First Solar, SolarEdge and Sunrun. First Solar fell as much as 22%, while SolarEdge declined as much as 42%, and Sunrun dropped 44%. The proposed tax policy changes are part of the Senate's version of President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," a budget package that was recently passed in the House of Representatives. Under the current policy, passed during the Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, subsidies for solar and wind energy would remain in place until 2032. But the new vision outlined by Republican officials includes granting 100% of the tax credits to hydropower, nuclear, and geothermal energy, areas of the energy sector that the Trump administration favors. Republican Senator Mike Crapo, who serves as founder and co-chairman of the Senate Nuclear Cleanup Caucus, has released a text summary of the bill, which promises to eliminate billions of dollars of clean energy subsidies, describing them as unnecessary and highlighting the need to prioritize other energy sources. These changes have been met with blowback from the clean energy industry, whose advocates have touted the economic consequences of eliminating solar and wind subsidies. This list includes Ari Matusiak, CEO of clean energy nonprofit Rewiring America, who has stated that "Eliminating the tax credits that save families money is a profound mistake." Ed Mills, a managing director and Washington policy analyst for Raymond James, notes that "While the Senate proposal still represents a material negative for renewable energy investment/names, it is a significant improvement from the House." So far, though, the "material negative" seems to be outweighing any improvements for solar stocks. And the corner of the energy sector could have further to fall if the Senate proposal moves forward. It stands to not just eliminate billions of dollars in subsidies that have allowed the renewable power industry to grow, but to provide them to companies that produce competing energy sources. Read the original article on Business Insider Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
