Colombia’s labor unions on Wednesday began a 48-hour strike in support of a referendum proposed by President Gustavo Petro to let voters to decide whether to overhaul the country’s labor laws.
The work stoppage was in response to a direct call from Petro, who has argued that Congress is working against the interest of workers by repeatedly blocking his efforts to reform labor regulations. The referendum, whose questions would include whether workdays should be limited to eight hours, has become the crux of long-running tensions between the executive and legislative branches.
