Christian pastors and other religious authorities supported labor reform | Más Colombia
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Christian pastors and other religious authorities supported labor reform

Representatives of various religious communities in Colombia expressed their support for the labor reform bill and highlighted the idea that “the worker should be worthy of his salary”.
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Through the Twitter account of the Ministry of Labor, representatives of several religious communities in Colombia expressed their support for the labor and pension reforms led by the Minister of Labor, Gloria Inés Ramírez, which are already being processed in the Congress of the Republic.

These were representatives of the Anglican Episcopal Church of Chile Diocese of Colombia; the Esplendor de Gloria Christian Church of the World Ecumenical Communion; the New Independent Liberal Lutheran Christian Church; the Community of Hope Presbyterian Church; the Free and Independent Rabbinical Council of the Americas; the Mennonite Christian Church of Colombia; Father Kosmas Greek Orthodox Church; and the National Apostolic Catholic Church of Colombia, who highlighted their views and expressed their support for the bills; the Mennonite Christian Church of Colombia; Father Kosmas Greek Orthodox Church; and the National Catholic Apostolic Church of Colombia, who highlighted their views and expressed their support for the bills seeking to change labor and pension legislation in Colombia.


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Among the reasons given by the religious leaders, the idea that “the worker should be worthy of his salary” stands out, as expressed by Esperanza Millán, who is part of the Esplendor de Gloria Christian Church community.

This idea of an income that allows workers to provide for their families is coupled with the need for workers to have healthy working conditions and adequate access to social security, measures that, in the view of these religious authorities, could jointly contribute to ending the inequality that has characterized Colombia.

“When we talk about salary and work, one of the things that I love about the reform and why I support the pension reform is because the pension is something that every worker has earned, every person who has worked hard for years and is saving for the moment when their work activities cease”, explained Esperanza Millán before presenting her support for the pension reform.

On his part, Bishop Germán Suárez, of the Anglican Episcopal Church of Chile Diocese of Colombia, referred to the labor reform and assured that the proposal could recover rights that workers had already won in the past:


“Colombia has long been mired in an inequality that is almost murderous with workers. It is time to make a change and the labor reform that is being proposed not only seeks to recover rights won through time, through union and workers’ struggles, but also to give new guarantees to workers, guarantees that exist in other countries”. Having said this, Bishop Suárez assured that we must “support this reform for the equality of people”.

The representative of the diocese of Bogota of the National Catholic Apostolic Church of Colombia, Bishop Omar René Yágüez, explained his support to the labor reform, considering that “a good salary, good health, good social security, good recreation, are the key elements of a good society. Therefore, we recommend, always, to keep in mind that the support to the workers, to the working class, is what sustains a society and sustains an economy”.

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“Every person who makes an effort to build the Nation is worthy of his salary”: support to the labor reform

Several spiritual leaders who supported the labor reform claim to know the needs of several rural and urban communities, so they believe that the changes proposed by the national government could respond to the needs of workers, so they can better support their families.

Monsignor Angel Barrera Martinez, of the World Ecumenical Communion, says that the community of priests of Christian diversity that he represents supports the labor reform “because in our Christian feeling we understand that every day laborer, every worker, every person who makes an effort to build the Nation is worthy of his salary, a just salary, which must be sufficient for his needs and those of his family; it must be dignified”.

Support for the labor and pension reform was also expressed by Rabbi Richard Gamboa, Chancellor of the Free and Independent Rabbinical Council of the Americas: “In Colombia we need to support the labor reform as we need to guarantee that millions of Colombians can have decent working conditions”.

He also referred to a salary that “can meet all the basic needs to be able to survive and provide the necessary support for their families and to be able to live with dignity. Because work is dignified, but so is the worker”.


For his part, Octavio Correal, from the Father Kosmas Church, Greek Orthodox Church, assures that the labor reform will make “those who hire people pay their salaries fairly. The Word says that the worker is worthy of his salary and a salary must be fair and equitable so that he can provide for his personal and family needs and can truly live as a human being”.

Spiritual leaders invited faith communities to support labor reform

From the Mennonite Christian Church of Teusaquillo, in Bogota, Pastor Pedro Stucky invited faith communities, pastors of churches to support the labor reform. “This labor reform takes into account, especially, the rights of workers, defends these people who have the labor precariousness that characterizes many of the contracts of workers here in Colombia”.

Finally, the minister of the Comunidad Esperanza Presbyterian Church, Luis Fernando San Miguel, who was also coordinator of the proposal of the faith communities Colombia Territory of Peace, highlighted the importance of supporting the labor reform and the pension reform, considering that both benefit the Colombian population. He also called for more religious organizations to support the labor reform currently being discussed in the Congress of the Republic.

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