Government Sets 2023 Minimum Wage For Colombia

President Gustavo Petro Thursday announced that for 2023 the minimum wage for Colombia will be increased by 16% to $1,160,000 COP per month, and the transportation subsidy paid to commuters making less than double the minimum wage will increase by 20% to $140,000 COP for the coming year.

“I hope that this increase in the minimum wage will recover the purchasing power that has been lost in recent months, due to inflation; recover the increase in the average productivity of the economy and allow us, in addition, to make internal demand jump in Colombia in its most vulnerable sectors, in such a way that we can not only correct a situation of growing hunger, without a doubt, but also that become the engine of economic growth,” said the president, an economist by education.

“If internal demand grows in Colombia next year, I am convinced, the economy will grow far beyond the not very optimistic forecast that international conditions are imposing for Colombia,” he added.

The government said in a statement that to achieve this percentage increase in the basic salary of Colombians, total factor productivity (1.24%), inflation of poor and vulnerable households (14.34%) and Gross Domestic Product were taken into account. (9.4%).

Minister of Labor, Gloria Inés Ramírez, announced a series of measures that the national government will adopt to protect the purchasing power of the most vulnerable sectors to prevent excessive increases that tend to counteract the increase in the minimum wage. In Colombia, it is customary for many businesses to raise their prices in the new year by an amount reflecting the increase in the official minimum wage.

The government also announced subsidies for fertilizer and other agricultural supplies, and work to lower energy costs and consumer interest rates. Petro also announced plans to reduce the health contribution pensioners receiving less than 3 times the monthly minimum wage from 12% to 10%.