By Laura Gamba
BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - Colombia’s government said Monday that it will issue a temporary decree on the 2026 minimum wage after the country’s highest administrative court ordered a provisional suspension of the historic increase.
The battle over the minimum wage reached a boiling point as the government reconvened the Permanent Commission on Wage and Labor Policy.
The move follows a high-stakes ruling by the Council of State that provisionally suspended a historic 23.7% hike in the minimum wage issued in a decree by President Gustavo Petro in December.
While the court’s freeze left millions of workers in legal limbo, Labor Minister Antonio Sanguino confirmed Monday that the government has no intention of backing down.
"We will defend to the utmost the right of workers to a living wage," Sanguino said following a negotiating session.
"The government will comply with the court's order by issuing a new transitional decree, but we are not ruling out maintaining or even exceeding the original figure," he added.
The Council of State’s intervention serves as a "precautionary measure" following several lawsuits. The court pointed to potential legal flaws in the original December decree, specifically questioning whether the government ignored technical requirements mandated by Law 278 of 1996, which requires wage hikes to be balanced against current inflation and national productivity. It has also raised alarms that the substantial hike could inadvertently push businesses into the informal sector to avoid rising labor costs.
In a rare twist, business associations -- led by Bruce Mac Master, president of the National Association of Colombian Businessmen (ANDI) -- have expressed concern about lowering the wage now that it has already been implemented.
While Mac Master originally warned that a double-digit hike would hurt the economy, he noted Monday that withdrawing the 23.7% increase now would trigger "unmanageable instability."
"We decided not to sue (over) the decree because we recognize that rights have already been generated for workers since Jan. 1," he said.
Business leaders are now caught between their technical concerns about inflation and the logistics of recalibrating payrolls that have been active for over six weeks.
President Petro, speaking in a televised address Sunday night, dismissed claims that the new wage has fueled inflation, instead blaming price hikes on meat exports. Framing the judicial suspension as an institutional blockade against the working class, he has called for nationwide demonstrations.
“The vital wage will remain in place until the new decree is issued,” he said. “We will see each other in every public square this Thursday, Feb. 19, at 4 p.m. to defend this historic achievement.”
The government has eight days to publish the new transitional decree.