The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has published its 2026 review of Colombia’s labour market and social policies, the third post-accession assessment of progress in the areas the OECD flagged at accession. The review says Colombia’s 2025 labour reform substantially strengthened the labour framework by making open-ended contracts the default, tightening rules on subcontracting and labour intermediation, expanding regulation of platform work and reinforcing enforcement tools. But it concludes that core structural weaknesses remain, with the decline in informality having stalled since mid-2024, 56.9% of workers not contributing to the pension system at the end of 2025, and rural informality still at 83.5%. Across enforcement and labour relations, the OECD reports mixed progress. Labour inspection has become more active through more reactive inspections, expanded rural coverage, improved case management and fines collection, and greater use of Labour Formalisation Agreements, yet inspector numbers and budget have fallen in recent years and investigations and sanctioning procedures remain well below earlier levels. On collective bargaining, the OECD says Colombia has started to build a two-tier framework through new public-sector rules in 2024 and private-sector sectoral bargaining rules in 2026, but union density was only 4.7% in 2024, collective pacts continue to be used, and it reiterates recommendations to broaden strike rights, improve dispute resolution and extend collective agreements more widely. The review also warns that the 23% statutory minimum wage increase in January 2026, following cumulative growth of about 75% since 2023, may reinforce wage compression and discourage formal hiring. On crimes against trade unionists, the review says Colombia has improved prosecution and protection arrangements through more specialised investigations, inter-institutional co-ordination, maintained funding for protection programmes and reforms to public-order management, including the replacement of ESMAD with the Unit of Dialogue and Maintenance of Order. Even so, it says serious risks persist, with 12 trade unionists killed in 2025, continuing threats against union leaders, and no convictions in cases involving violations of rights of assembly and association, prompting the OECD to call for continued efforts to identify intellectual authors and to assess the effectiveness of the mandatory conciliation phase in such cases.
OECD2026-07-13
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development review finds Colombia's 2025 labour reform advanced protections, but informality, weak collective bargaining and anti-union violence persist
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s 2026 review says Colombia’s 2025 labour reform strengthened worker protections and enforcement, but progress has not resolved core weaknesses. Informality remained high at 56.9% at end-2025, collective bargaining stayed weak despite new sectoral bargaining rules, and anti-union violence persisted with 12 trade union homicides in 2025. Labour inspection and prosecution improved, but staffing, sanctions and structural incentives for formal job creation remain concerns.