Colombia court suspends President Petro's labor reform referendum decree
Colombia's President Gustavo Petro speaks during the rally for peace and democracy at San Francisco Square in Cali, Colombia June 11, 2025. REUTERS/Sebastian Marmolejo/File Photo
BOGOTA - A Colombian high court on Wednesday suspended a decree by President Gustavo Petro that sought to call a controversial referendum on his proposed labor reform, the latest setback for Petro's beleaguered effort to broadly expand worker benefits.
Petro decreed the 12-question referendum last week in a bid to force the Senate to vote on his reform before the end of its session on June 20 and in defiance of the opposition, who say the vote would disregard institutional norms and threaten Colombia's separation of powers.
The Council of State, a high court that settles disputes between private parties and state entities, said in its decision that the referendum decree lacked approval it requires in the Senate.
On Tuesday, the Senate approved a modified and much-debated labor reform bill, and Petro has said he could withdraw his call for a referendum if that labor reform, as approved, passes a reconciliation process between the Senate and the House of Representatives and ultimately benefits workers.
Tuesday's bill aims to improve workers' conditions and includes measures to enshrine an eight-hour daytime work day. The approved reform will immediately increase wages for work conducted from 7 p.m. onward and gradually increase the surcharge for Sunday and holiday work through July 2027.
Petro, who took office in August 2022 as Colombia's first leftist president, pledged to push through economic and social reforms to reduce poverty and inequality in the country of 50 million.
However, most of his social proposals have either been rejected or have faced significant obstacles in Congress, where he lacks sufficient support and a politically polarized environment less than a year before legislative and presidential elections to choose his successor. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
36 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Nippon Steel's takeover of US Steel carries geopolitical significance for Washington-Tokyo alliance
On June 18, Japan's Nippon Steel finally signed, sealed and delivered on its acquisition of US Steel after an 18-month takeover battle. PHOTO: JUSTIN MERRIMAN/NYTIMES – A trade deal that relieves Japan from hefty auto and 'reciprocal' tariffs imposed by its security ally, the United States, remains far off. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba admitted as much on June 16 when he cited persisting disagreements despite two face-to-face meetings, four telephone summits and six rounds of Cabinet-level negotiations. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Israeli military says it targeted nuclear sites in Iran's Natanz and Arak overnight
Israeli military says it targeted nuclear sites in Iran's Natanz and Arak overnight DUBAI - The Israeli military said on Thursday it had targeted the nuclear reactor in the area of Arak in Iran overnight and struck what it called a nuclear weapons development site in the area of Natanz. Among its nuclear sites, Iran had a partially built heavy-water research reactor originally called Arak and now Khondab. At Natanz, which has been previously struck during Israel's six-day-old aerial war with Iran, Iran built a complex at the heart of its nuclear programme that included two enrichment plants. Heavy-water reactors pose a nuclear proliferation risk because they can easily produce plutonium which, like enriched uranium, can be used to make the core of an atom bomb. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Iran, Israel trade fresh air attacks as Trump weighs US involvement
Mr Trump has veered from proposing a swift diplomatic end to the war to suggesting the United States might join it. PHOTO: AFP WASHINGTON/DUBAI/JERUSALEM - Iran and Israel traded further air attacks on June 19 as US President Donald Trump kept the world guessing about whether the United States would join Israel's bombardment of Iranian nuclear facilities. A week of Israeli air and missile strikes against its major rival has wiped out the top echelon of Iran's military command, damaged its nuclear capabilities and killed hundreds of people, while Iranian retaliatory strikes have killed two dozen civilians in Israel. The worst-ever conflict between the rivals has raised fears that it will draw in world powers and rock regional stability already undermined by the spillover effects of the Gaza war. Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Mr Trump declined to say if he had made any decision on whether to join Israel's campaign. 'I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do,' he said. Mr Trump in later remarks said Iranian officials wanted to come to Washington for a meeting and that 'we may do that'. But he added: 'It's a little late' for such talks. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rebuked Mr Trump's earlier call for Iran to surrender in a recorded speech played on television, his first appearance since June 13. The Americans 'should know that any US military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage,' he said. 'The Iranian nation will not surrender.' Iran denies it is seeking nuclear weapons and says its program is for peaceful purposes only. The International Atomic Energy Agency said last week Tehran was in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in 20 years. The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain plan to hold nuclear talks with their Iranian counterpart on June 20 in Geneva to urge Iran to return to the negotiating table, a German diplomatic source told Reuters. But while diplomatic efforts continue, some residents of Tehran, a city of 10 million people, on June 18 jammed highways out of the city as they sought sanctuary from intensified Israeli airstrikes. Ms Arezou, a 31-year-old Tehran resident, told Reuters by phone that she had made it out of the city to the nearby resort town of Lavasan. 'We will stay here as long as this war continues. My friend's house in Tehran was attacked and her brother was injured. They are civilians,' she said. 'Why are we paying the price for the regime's decision to pursue a nuclear programme?' A source familiar with internal discussions said Mr Trump and his team were considering options that included joining Israel in strikes against Iranian nuclear installations. But the prospect of a US strike against Iran has exposed divisions in the coalition of supporters that brought Mr Trump to power, with some of his base urging him not to get the country involved in a new Middle East war. Senior US Senate Democrats urged Mr Trump to prioritise diplomacy and seek a binding agreement to prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons, while expressing concern about his administration's approach. 'We are alarmed by the Trump administration's failure to provide answers to fundamental questions. By law, the president must consult Congress and seek authorisation if he is considering taking the country to war,' they said in a statement. 'He owes Congress and the American people a strategy for US engagement in the region.' Drone attacks On the morning of June 19, a missile warning was issued by Israel's military and explosions were heard over Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The Israeli military said several civilian areas, including a hospital, were hit by Iranian missile strikes. In Iran, the Isna news agency reported that an area near the heavy water facility of the Khondab nuclear facility was targeted by Israel. Earlier, air defences were activated in Tehran, intercepting drones on the outskirts of the capital, the semi-official SNN news agency reported. Iranian news agencies also reported it had arrested 18 'enemy agents' who were building drones for Israeli attacks in the north-eastern city of Mashhad . Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a video released by his office on June 18, said Israel was 'progressing step by step' towards eliminating threats posed by Iran's nuclear sites and ballistic missile arsenal. 'We are hitting the nuclear sites, the missiles, the headquarters, the symbols of the regime,' Mr Netanyahu said. Israel, which is not a party to the international Non-Proliferation Treaty, is the only country in the Middle East believed to have nuclear weapons. Israel does not deny or confirm that. Mr Netanyahu also thanked Mr Trump, 'a great friend of the state of Israel', for standing by its side in the conflict, saying the two were in continuous contact. Mr Trump has veered from proposing a swift diplomatic end to the war to suggesting the United States might join it. In social media posts on June 17 , he mused about killing Mr Khamenei. People take shelter for the night at an underground light rail station in the city of Ramat Gan, east of Tel Aviv, on June 17. PHOTO: AFP Russian President Vladimir Putin, asked what his reaction would be if Israel did kill Iran's Supreme Leader with the assistance of the United States, said on June 18: 'I do not even want to discuss this possibility. I do not want to.' Mr Putin said all sides should look for ways to end hostilities in a way that ensured both Iran's right to peaceful nuclear power and Israel's right to the unconditional security of the Jewish state. Since June 13, Iran has fired around 400 missiles at Israel, some 40 of which have pierced air defences, killing 24 people, all of them civilians, according to Israeli authorities. The Iranian missile salvoes mark the first time in decades of shadow war and proxy conflict that a significant number of projectiles fired from Iran have penetrated defences, killing Israelis in their homes. Iran has reported at least 224 deaths in Israeli attacks, mostly civilians, but has not updated that toll for days. US.-based Iranian activist news agency Hrana said 639 people had been killed in the Israeli attacks and 1,329 injured as of June 18. Reuters could not independently verify the report. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
