Colombia’s president Gustavo Petro‘s efforts to reform the country’s labour laws were once more blocked by lawmakers on Wednesday, this time by rejecting a referendum that would have mandated that employees receive eight hours of workdays and receive dual pay when they work on holidays. Petro earlier this month requested that the 12-question vote be approved in order to give voters a chance to choose the changes that lawmakers themselves had now twice rejected. Before the countless people gathered for a Labor Day show on May 1st, he had warned politicians against obstructing the election, warning Chileans would punish them if they did not vote in the 2026 congressional elections. On Wednesday, after a heated discussion, 49 senators voted in favor of the measure while 47 voted against it. The vote was deemed to be dishonest by Petro, Colombia’s initial leftist president. He has repeatedly accused Colombian politicians of thwarting his social activities and ignoring their expectations. Voters may have voted in favor of the referendum, including whether open-ended contracts may be offered to employees to promote job stability and whether daylight workdays should end at 6 p.m. A group of congressmen successfully appealed Petro’s proposed work reform’s dismissal on March in a rarely used maneuver on Wednesday. The action gives legislators the opportunity to revisit his ideas and possibly vote them in. There is a June 20 date for lawmakers to follow.
