Colombian lawmakers reject president's labour reform referendum

Lawmakers in Colombia on Wednesday once again blocked President Gustavo Petro's efforts to overhaul the country's labour laws, this time by rejecting a referendum that would have asked voters whether workdays should be limited to eight hours and whether workers should receive double pay if they work during holidays.

Petro asked Congress earlier this month to approve the 12-question referendum to give voters a chance to decide on the changes that lawmakers themselves had already rejected twice. He had warned lawmakers against blocking the referendum, saying before thousands of people gathered for a Labour Day demonstration on May 1 that if they did not approve it, Colombians would punish them at the polls during the 2026 legislative elections.

 

After an intense debate Wednesday, 49 senators voted against the measure and 47 in favour.

Petro, Colombia's first leftist president, characterised the vote as fraudulent. He has repeatedly accused lawmakers of blocking his social initiatives and ignoring the demands of Colombians.

Had lawmakers approved the referendum, voters would have answered questions such as whether daytime workdays should end at 6 p.m. and whether open-ended contracts should be offered to workers to prioritise job stability.

In a rarely used maneuver, a group of congressmen on Wednesday successfully appealed the March dismissal of Petro's proposed labour reform. The move allows lawmakers to again debate his proposals and potentially approve them. Lawmakers face a June 20 deadline to do so.