Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro announced on Tuesday night that for the first time in Colombia’s history, the annual minimum wage increase for 2026 will be calculated based on the concept of a “vital minimum wage.”
Speaking in a televised address, Petro confirmed that the government will issue a decree establishing the new minimum wage after negotiations between business leaders and unions failed to reach a consensus. While the exact percentage of the increase is expected to be released in the coming hours, the President made clear that the new figure would break with traditional calculation methods.
“What is the minimum vital basket of a family? How many people work, on average, in the family? That data exists, which is applied and gives us the minimum wage that we are going to decree,” Petro said. “The wage is familiar, not individual. And that goes in the decree.”
Colombia’s vital minimum wage is grounded on standards set by the International Labor Organization
The “vital minimum wage” concept is grounded in standards set by the International Labor Organization (ILO) and Colombia’s own Constitution. According to ILO, a minimum wage must be sufficient to provide a “dignified standard of living for workers and their families,” taking into account the cost of living, social security benefits, and the relative living standards of other social groups.
Petro emphasized that this approach aims to protect the purchasing power of workers, citing Article 53 of the Colombian Constitution, which mandates a “vital and mobile minimum remuneration.”
“Salaries must guarantee dignified living conditions and adjust to other economic variables,” the president stated.
The decree comes after a breakdown in minimum wage negotiations
The decision to decree the wage follows a breakdown in the Permanent Commission on Conciliation of Wage and Labor Policies. Labor unions, led by the Central Union of Workers (CUT), had pushed for a 16% hike, which would bring the minimum wage to approximately 1.65 million pesos (US$407). They argued that a gap persists between the current wage and a true “vital” income, which they estimate should be closer to 2.1 million pesos.
Business associations countered with an offer of 7.21%, arguing that this figure adequately reflects the expected 2025 inflation of roughly 5.3% and a productivity growth of just 0.91%. Employers warned that a double-digit increase could fuel inflation and drive more workers into informality. Currently, the minimum wage stands at 1,423,500 pesos (US$351) following a 9.5% increase for 2025. Petro says the minimum wage has risen by 17.7% during his administration
El Gobierno del Cambio es el que más ha hecho crecer el salario mínimo frente a los últimos gobiernos.
Mientras que entre 2015 y 2018 el crecimiento real acumulado fue del 4,7 %, y entre 2019 y 2022 apenas alcanzó el 1,4 %, en este Gobierno, entre 2023 y 2025, el salario mínimo… pic.twitter.com/v155WWD0ID
— Presidencia Colombia 🇨🇴 (@infopresidencia) December 24, 2025
During his address, President Petro framed the wage policy as a centerpiece of his administration’s “Change” agenda. He highlighted that under his government (2023-2025), the real minimum wage has risen by 17.7%, contrasting this with a 1.4% decline in real wages during the administration of his predecessor, Ivan Duque (2019-2022).
“It has gone up, and it is going to go up more. This is the change, and it means there is more wealth for the working people of Colombia,” Petro declared. The decree, which must be issued before Dec. 30, is anticipated to set an increase above 10%, defying the single-digit recommendation of the business sector.