[Colombia] 20% minimum wage cut for new jobs considered

Colombia’s finance minister has proposed to temporarily allow employers to hire workers for 80 per cent of the country’s $250 monthly minimum wage, on the grounds that doing so would boost economic recovery.

Alberto Carrasquilla made the proposal after consultations with economists and business associations about how to help the economy recover from the COVID-19 crisis, which has caused both poverty and unemployment in Colombia to skyrocket. (Links via original reporting)

In an interview with Blu Radio, Carrasquilla reportedly said he and former finance ministers believed that the measure - allowing employers to formally pay newly hired workers for a period of a few weeks - would stimulate employers to hire new personnel.

Rudolf Hommes - the former finance minister - is supportive of the proposal, saying it could create a million jobs for the estimated 2 million people who were jobless in October (according to figures from statistics agency Dane).

There were no specifics from Carrasquilla or Hommes about how long employers would be allowed to maintain wages below the minimum or about how to prevent mass layoffs among those who are currently employed. Columbia Reports has further details of the proposal and reactions to it.

Colombia’s finance minister has proposed to temporarily allow employers to hire workers for 80 per cent of the country’s $250 monthly minimum wage, on the grounds that doing so would boost economic recovery.

Alberto Carrasquilla made the proposal after consultations with economists and business associations about how to help the economy recover from the COVID-19 crisis, which has caused both poverty and unemployment in Colombia to skyrocket. (Links via original reporting)

In an interview with Blu Radio, Carrasquilla reportedly said he and former finance ministers believed that the measure - allowing employers to formally pay newly hired workers for a period of a few weeks - would stimulate employers to hire new personnel.

Rudolf Hommes - the former finance minister - is supportive of the proposal, saying it could create a million jobs for the estimated 2 million people who were jobless in October (according to figures from statistics agency Dane).

There were no specifics from Carrasquilla or Hommes about how long employers would be allowed to maintain wages below the minimum or about how to prevent mass layoffs among those who are currently employed. Columbia Reports has further details of the proposal and reactions to it.