Colombia proposes new Labor Statute to unify employment regulations

Colombia's Minister of Labor, Natalia López Fuentes, has presented a new Labor Statute to Congress. The initiative aims to consolidate various rights, obligations, and rules currently scattered across the Substantive Labor Code, judicial decisions, and previous reforms into a single unified regulation.

López described the proposal as a “historical debt” to the country since the 1991 Constitution, intended to modernize the legal framework by incorporating contemporary realities such as digital platform work, rural labor, domestic work, and independent contracting. The Ministry maintains the project was built through legal rigor and dialogue.

However, the proposal has faced criticism from opposition sectors. Senator Orlando de la Hoz labeled the initiative a “labor counter-reform” and questioned the Ministry's process, arguing that there was insufficient consultation with labor unions and business guilds before bringing the project to the legislature.