Colombia Raises Monthly Minimum Wage To $644,350 (US $270 as of Jan.20) For 2015

Mintrabajo, Colombia’s ministry of labor, announced that the monthly minimum wage throughout the country will be set at $644,350 pesos per month, an increase of 4.6%. The labor minister, Luis Eduardo Garzón, announced that the increase was higher than in previous years, thus workers earning this wage will not suffer a loss in buying power.

This article is about 2015. For Information on The 2016 Minimum Wage, please click here.

“All are witnesses of the effort we have made to arrive at an agreeable rate, and this was difficult, but I want to vindicate the attitude of the businesspeople and labor organizations, because the effort from all sectors was very important,” said Garzón. The 2015 wage was established in Decree #2731, December 30, 2014.

Transport expense reimbursement set at $74,000 ($31.12) monthly

In Colombia, low wage earners also receive a transportation subsidy from their employers. For 2015, Garzón announced that this would be set at 74,000 pesos per month, set by Decree #2732. As a reference, 2 rush-hour trips per day for a 20-workday month would cost a regular user of Transmilenio, Bogotá’s public transport system, without social discounts or subsidies (disability, senior citizen, etc.) $72,000 per month, based on published rates.

Front page photo credit showing labor minister Luis Eduardo Garzón (left) with President Santos: Mintrabajo