The Second Vice-President of the Government of Spain and Minister for Work and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, has signed the first Memorandum of Understanding with Colombia to strengthen cooperation in social and labour matters between the two countries, which until now had been developed in very specific technical areas.
The Vice-president pledged that Colombia has joined other Latin American countries in setting aside neoliberal policies, in a firm commitment to promoting reforms centred on people, and in social and labour matters prioritising not only employment promotion, but also social justice that generates gender and racial equality as well as securing rights for working people.
"In this shared desire to make policy for the people, today we strengthen our bilateral relations, signing the first Memorandum of Understanding between our Ministries of Labour to continue advancing towards fairer, more inclusive and democratic labour markets," said Díaz at the signing with Colombian Foreign Minister Álvaro Leyva Durán, on behalf of the Colombian Minister of Labour, Gloria Inés Ramírez Ríos.
A Memorandum of Understanding to enhance co-operation
The document sets out seven action points for promoting sustainable economic development that considers reducing inequality. This process also seeks to increase the involvement of important social partners: the representative organisations of workers and employers.
The memorandum not only seeks to enhance employment stability and reduce temporary employment, but also to promote gender equality in the workplace in order to reduce job insecurity, wage gaps or any kind of discrimination, as well as to promote collective bargaining mechanisms and social dialogue.
The document, which was signed during the state visit of Colombian President Gustavo Petro, also provides for collaboration with the Labour Inspectorate to combat informal work and intensify cooperation between the respective Public Employment Services on public employment training policies.
Petro, who came to power last August, has shown interest in Spain's labour reforms, from the labour law reform granting rights to people delivering for digital platforms, to the law regulating remote work.
This interest has been demonstrated by meetings and conferences such as the one that the Colombian Vice-president, Francia Márquez, held virtually with Minister Díaz; or in the participation of the Secretary of State for Employment, Joaquín Pérez Rey, in the tripartite commission responsible for directing labour reform work, amongst others.
The Colombian president has recently presented his labour reform project, which has been inspired by Spanish legislation and which includes, among its most important points, a reduction in the working week from 48 to 42 hours and an increase in holidays from 15 to 20 working days a year.
The Vice-president pledge that her ministry would closely monitor the development of this law, which constitutes a "firm commitment to the rights of workers".
In his opinion, collaboration in this area, as well as the two projects promoted by this Vice-presidency - the Ibero-American Network of Labour Inspections and cooperation between Public Employment Services - open up a new phase of cooperation that will lead to an improvement in people's lives.
"I am convinced that this new phase between Spain and Colombia is crucial for the construction of a democratic and pro-labour world, which puts the interests of working people above that of those who have always enjoyed privilege in our countries", insisted Díaz.
Non official translation
The Second Vice-President of the Government of Spain and Minister for Work and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, and the Colombian Foreign Minister, Álvaro Leyva Durán (Pool Moncloa / Fernando Calvo)