What Jumps Out: Labor Day Fallout

As expected, there were widespread demonstrations to commemorate Labor Day and also to support Gustavo Petro, who spoke in Bogotá, formally launching the referendum to support his labor reform. In parallel, opposition leaders expressed their own opinion that any reforms should pass through the senate.

The issue is that it is neither the full senate nor the full congress got to debate the labor reform, as the 7-person gatekeeper committee didn’t allow them, and those committees are stacked with opposition senators. How many protested – tough to tell as the mainstream media aren’t easily given to reporting positive Petro news however the numbers were considerable, especially in Bogotá.

The real crux of the issue is that 99% of those complaining about the reform had a holiday. They sat at restaurants and went shopping – all the time served and attended by those who were ordinarily working with no thought of overtime payments or compensation. Any just person looking through the 12 referendum proposals would simply shrug their shoulders and agree with the concepts.

What happens next? It’s very hard to say. No one wants to see a president circumvent congress; however, there is a deep frustration with the go-slow of the committees – and there is still over a year of the administration ahead. The referendum still requires approval, and then, reportedly, a vote of over 13 million in favor, to get over the line – and even then, there is a lack of transparency.

Elsewhere, Banco de la República – Colombia unanimously cut overnight rates from 9.5-9.25%, this was as expected; however, given the recent stubbornness of the central bank there were some concerns. This will give another boon to the economy, particularly the commercial side which is already hopping.

To demonstrate this, Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística – DANE Colombia reported that March unemployment dropped considerably YoY. Both total (9.6%) and urban (9.3%) were much lower than their respective 2024 readings of 11.3% & 10.8%. Total employment for was the lowest reading for March since 2015, a number that shouldn’t be ignored – also YoY over 1 million people found employment. Very positive for those seeking work.

Have a great end to the week.

Roops.

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Photo credit: Presidencia de la República de Colombia/Facebook