LatinNews Daily - 12 June 2025

*Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro has signed a decree convening a referendum on his government’s labour reform proposals for 7 August. The 12-question referendum, which must still be approved by the constitutional court before it can take place, would ask voters whether they support a standard working day of eight hours, with daytime hours running from 6am-6pm; compensation for working on Sundays or public holidays; preferential credit terms for micro, small, and medium-sized businesses; allowing employees leave to attend medical appointments or due to incapacitating menstrual pain; requiring companies to hire at least two disabled people per 100 employees; ensuring labour contracts for apprentices; fair contracts and social security for delivery and transport workers employed via digital platforms; banning outsourcing in union contracts; providing social security and formalising the employment status of domestic workers, journalists, artists, sportspeople, drivers, and other informal workers; making indefinite contracts the norm; and establishing a special fund to provide pensions to peasant farmers. The decree does not mention the government’s health reform plans, which Petro had previously said would be included in the referendum. Petro’s decree was met with fury by the opposition, which accuses the government of sidelining congress and ignoring the separation of powers. Senate president Efraín Cepeda, of the right-of-centre Partido Conservador (PC), said that a legal challenge to Petro’s decree is being prepared, describing it as “an assault on our country’s democracy”.

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