The statutory monthly minimum wage and travel allowance apply at national level. On December 26, the national government issued Decree No. 2360 of 2019, which established the current legal monthly minimum wage (SMLMV), which will come into effect on January 1, 2020, at eight hundred and seventy-seven thousand eight hundred and three pesos ($877,803). Thus, as of 1 January 2020, the legal monthly minimum wage is equivalent to 877,802 Colombian pesos and legal transport assistance is equivalent to 102,853 Colombian pesos for a total of approximately 980,655 Colombian pesos. In a negotiation process unseen a few years ago, the minimum wage for 2022 was agreed without extensive discussions between the government, unions and workers. President Iván Duque`s announcement was ratified and the increase in the legal minimum wage was 10.07%. We already have Decrees 1785 and 1786 of 2020, which set the new values of the minimum wage and transportation assistance from January 1, 2021. This 3.5% increase in SMMLVs and transport subsidies for 2021 is more than double inflation at the end of 2020 (1.5%). It is necessary to maintain the balance between purchasing power and the protection and creation of new jobs. The interprofessional minimum wage (SMI) is the amount of the minimum wage, or the value of the minimum wage, that an employee receives for the legal working day, regardless of the type of contract he has. Below you can download Decree 1785 of 2020 “By which the legal monthly minimum wage is established” and Decree 1786 of 2020, which establishes transport assistance. The Colombian government has announced that the increase in the legal monthly minimum wage and legal aid for transportation for 2020 will be 6%. Current legal monthly minimum wage and transportation assistance for 2020 Savings have been made Thus, the new legal monthly minimum wage will be COP$ 877,803, and the new transport allowance applicable to employees earning up to 2 monthly legal minimum wages will be COP$ 102,854; for a total of $980,657 from the COP.
The information contained in this notice is intended for the general education and knowledge of our readers. It is not intended to be the sole source of information in the analysis and resolution of a legal problem and should not be used as such. In addition, the laws of each jurisdiction are different and constantly evolving. If you have specific questions about a specific situation, we ask that you consult a competent legal advisor. Colombians receive $1,000,000 per month with $117,000 in transportation assistance. The decision was made by decree, taking into account that no agreement was reached. President Iván Duque has set the legal monthly minimum wage at $908,526. This represents an increase of 3.5%, or approximately $30,700.
In total, including transportation assistance, the minimum wage is $1,014,980. For the first time in Colombia`s history, this amount exceeds one million pesos. Before the official announcement, the Minister of Labour, Ángel Custodio Cabrera, had repeated that these were the “highest real increases of this century”. The legal monthly minimum wage in Colombia for 2022 was $1,117,000 with the transportation subsidy. If we look at the minimum wage in Colombian pesos, which is the official currency in Colombia, we can see that this year it was 1,000,000 Colombian pesos and therefore the SMI increased by 91,474 Colombian pesos per month, compared to the previous salary, 10.1%. This increase is lower than the 2021 CPI of 5.6%, so workers lost purchasing power despite last year`s increase. The increase also applies to workers earning a full minimum wage, whose salary will be 11,411,438 Colombian pesos as of January 1, 2020, including the performance factor. According to the president, this increase is historic and will benefit all workers in the country, as there has not been an increase of this magnitude in nearly five decades. If we look at the SMI ranking we have published, Colombia ranks 63rd, making it one of the countries with the lowest minimum wage of the 101 on the list. Currently, social media registration is not possible with the Microsoft Edge browser. According to President Iván Duque, the new increase exceeds the current inflation, which is above 1.5%. The announcement was made via the social network Twitter.
Keep in mind that workers earning up to 2 months` statutory salary are eligible for transportation legal assistance. Similarly, as of January 1, two thousand and twenty-one (2021), the transportation subsidy on which civil servants and private employees earning up to two (2) of the legal monthly minimum wage in force was set at one hundred and six thousand four hundred and fifty-four pesos ($106,454.00) per month was paid by employers in all regions of the country where public transportation is provided.