After weeks of failed negotiations at the Wage and Labor Policies Concertation Table, it has been confirmed that the increase in the minimum wage for the year 2026 will be established via presidential decree. The distant positions between the business unions and the labor unions prevented reaching a consensus, leaving the final decision in the hands of the Executive.

The Government announcement

The news was anticipated by the Minister of the Interior, Armando Benedetti, who delivered the figures that the Casa de Nariño is considering for next year. According to the senior official, the National Government seeks to protect the purchasing power of workers with a significant increase, higher than projected inflation.

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In that order of ideas, the Government is evaluating an increase close to 11%, which would leave the new salary at 1,580,085 pesos without transportation assistance and would be a total of 1,800,085 pesos with transportation assistance.

The failure of the negotiation

The decision to sign by decree comes after the parties failed to reach a middle ground:

The Workers: The labor confederations maintained a firm stance demanding a higher increase, arguing the high cost of living and the need to recover the spending capacity of Colombian households.

Businessmen: For their part, the production unions presented more austere proposals, warning that an excessive increase could affect the generation of formal employment and hit the cost structure of small and medium-sized companies.

The official decree is expected to be signed by the President of the Republic before December 30, making these figures official, which will take effect from January 1, 2026.