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A controversial proposal was launched by Alberto Echavarría, vice president of legal affairs of the National Association of Entrepreneurs of Colombia (Andi), noting that in order to cushion the economic blows that the coronavirus has left, the payment of the June premium is paid in December.
(Know the formula to calculate the mid-year premium).
“All of these measures aim to keep jobs. Deferring, then, the payment of the service premium for 180 days, is one of them “, Echavarría said, during a Virtual Economic Forum led by the Congress of the Republic.
“It is not that workers ‘rights are taken away, but they can accept that payments be deferred to allow companies’ cash flows to spread over time and to preserve jobs,” he explained.
Echavarría clarified that this proposal does not seek to affect the rights of employees, but that, to overcome “The critical situation in the country, we must all contribute: Government, businessmen, workers.”
By law, every six months, companies must pay their workers a service premium.
The Andi official’s proposal goes along the same lines as that commented by the former vice president of the Republic, Germán Vargas Lleras, in an opinion column published in El Tiempo, on May 3 last.
According to the also former senator, to protect jobs, premiums should be postponed and wages reduced, among other proposals.
WHAT DOES THE GOVERNMENT SAY?
After the proposal, Labor Minister Ángel Custodio Cabrera indicated that the Government will not issue any decree so that companies take it for granted that they can postpone the payment of the next June legal premium, since this is an acquired right of workers.
For Minister Cabrera, there are companies that have the capacity to make this payment. However for those who cannot, there must be a consensus between the employee and the employer.
