A recent U.N. report from the International Labour Organization (ILO) has ranked Colombia as having the sixth-highest minimum wage in South America.
The ILO lists minimum wages in international dollars using purchasing power parity (PPP), a hypothetical conversion rate based on the relative cost of commodities. Argentina has the highest minimum wage, where workers earn a monthly minimum of PPP$896.00.
Colombia’s minimum monthly wage of $288 converts to PPP$390, putting it behind Venezuela and Ecuador.
As previously reported, the minimum wage increase for 2011 was re-set to 4 percent, as opposed to the initial 3.4 percent, following complaints by labor unions, with the new wage activated at the turn of the year.