Colombia’s Council of State has temporarily suspended a recent decree that raised the country’s minimum wage by 23% for 2026, a move that impacts millions of workers. The suspension stems from concerns over the methodology used by the government in setting the increase.
The court has given the government eight days, starting the day after notification of the measure, to issue and publish a new decree establishing a transitional percentage increase for the 2026 minimum wage and the corresponding total value.
According to the Council of State, the original decree did not adhere to the criteria outlined in Law 278 of 1996. These criteria include factors such as inflation, productivity, and Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The government, the Council of State found, substituted these established metrics with a concept from the International Labour Organization (ILO) regarding a living wage, a calculation that has faced criticism for relying on outdated data.
The suspension will take effect as soon as the government sets a new minimum wage increase. This means the previously announced 23% increase remains in effect for the time being, and the next bi-weekly paycheck, scheduled for distribution in a few days, will reflect that increase.
The government will now be required to apply “economic and constitutional criteria” when determining the new increase. These include the inflation target set by the Board of Directors of the Republic Bank for 2026, the GDP growth for 2025, and the actual inflation rate for that same year, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (IPC).
