Colombian employers and labor unions were not able to reach an agreement on the height of the country’s minimum wage. The government will now have to decide how much minimum wage will go up.
It took the employers and union representatives one hour of negotiations to find out they were not going to be able to compromise.
The employers want minimum wage to go up no more than three percent, while the unions refused to accept less than five percent. Initially, the unions had demanded a 12% pay rise for the approximately three million Colombians that make minimum wage.
Now that employers and unions have ended talks, the government will have to decide on what minimum wage in the next year will be. Vice President Angelino Garzon had earlier criticized the employers’ bid and said a higher raise would stimulate the economy. However, analysts have said that a too high minimum wage will go against government promises to create jobs.
