The National Government made official the increase in the minimum wage for the year 2026, establishing an increase of 22.7%, the highest in recent years. With this measure, the base salary was set at $1,746,882, and the transportation allowance remained at $253,118, which brings the total income to $2,000,000 per month for workers who receive the minimum.
The announcement was made by President Gustavo Petro during a speech broadcast on the night of Monday, December 29, after weeks of speculation about the increase, in which the labor confederations and business associations did not reach an agreement.
Attention ‼️ the Minimum Wage with transportation assistance for 2026 will be $2,000,000.
As the president said @petrogustavo “The minimum wage must guarantee decent living conditions and adjust to other economic variables… The salary is not individual, it is family, and… pic.twitter.com/KSzpfPLSEA
— Susana Boreal (@SusanaBoreal) December 30, 2025
According to the Government, the increase seeks to advance towards the so-called Minimum Living Wage, a concept introduced for the first time in salary negotiation. The intention is to reduce the gap between workers’ current income and a salary that adequately covers basic needs.
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The increase will directly affect workers who depend on the minimum wage, who represent just over 10% of the country’s employed population. In addition, the adjustment is expected to have repercussions on the prices of goods and services that are updated annually.
From the business sector, companies must update their budgets to cover new payroll costs, as well as increases associated with social security, bonuses, severance pay and vacations, which are calculated based on the minimum wage.
The Government indicated that, according to calculations by international organizations such as the ILO, the ideal minimum wage should be close to $1,826,190 without transportation assistance. Therefore, this increase is proposed as a progressive base, which will allow future adjustments to continue until income levels are closer to the basic needs of workers.