The National Federation of Business Merchants (Fenalco) announced it will file a nullity lawsuit against Decree 234 of 2026, arguing the government exceeded its regulatory powers by changing collective bargaining rules without congressional approval. The group also requested provisional suspension of the decree pending resolution.
Jaime Alberto Cabal, president of Fenalco, led the announcement of the legal action before the contentious-administrative jurisdiction. According to the guild, the decree issued by the Ministry of Labor goes beyond regulating existing norms by creating an autonomous legal regime for collective bargaining, encroaching on legislative powers and altering Colombia's current labor framework. Fenalco particularly challenges the mandatory multilevel collective bargaining model, featuring unified bargaining demands, table, and convention—a structure not present in current labor legislation. This approach, the guild argues, redefines labor relations and revives content excluded during congressional debates on labor reform. The decree also burdens employers with new requirements, such as providing economic and strategic information, potentially undermining business freedom, trade secrets, and competitiveness by mandating disclosure of sensitive data without explicit legal backing. Further concerns involve syndical representation rules that could hinder smaller unions' influence, and the potential to impose economic burdens on non-unionized workers through sectoral collective conventions, impacting those uninvolved in negotiations.
