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Social Policy (Basic Aims and Standards) Convention, 1962 (No. 117) - Ecuador (RATIFICATION: 1969)

Parts I and II of the Convention. Improvement of standards of living. The Committee notes with interest the adoption of the National Development Plan 2017–2021, on 13 July 2017, which is directly linked to the 2030 Agenda. The Government indicates that the Plan is made up of three sections entitled: “rights for all throughout life”, “the economy at the service of society”, and “more society, better State”. The objectives of the first section include: (i) promoting economic and social inclusion and combating poverty in all its dimensions in order to ensure economic, social, cultural and territorial equality; (ii) guaranteeing the right to health, education and comprehensive care throughout the lifecycle, in terms of accessibility, quality and land and cultural belonging; (iii) guaranteeing access to decent work and social security for all persons; and (iv) ensuring access to decent and adequate housing. The Plan also provides for the adoption of policies aimed at reducing poverty in rural areas and promoting the access of rural populations to basic services such as education, health and housing. With regard to the measures envisaged to increase the production capacity and improve the standards of living of agricultural producers, the Plan provides for the adoption of policies aimed at promoting the redistribution of land and equitable access to the means of production, as well as the development of the infrastructure needed to increase productivity, trade, competitiveness and the quality of rural production. The Committee also takes note of the adoption of the “Lifetime Plan” in 2018, the objective of which is to progress towards a more fair, equitable and supportive society that recognizes people as rights holders throughout their lives. The Plan is implemented through seven missions, including the “less poverty, more development mission”, which aims to increase the income of persons living in situations of poverty and extreme poverty. The mission consists of a conditional monthly monetary transfer known as the Human Development Benefit, which is a subsidy granted to the representatives of those families living in conditions of greatest vulnerability with a view to encouraging co-responsibility in health and education. In this respect, the Committee notes that, according to information from the National Census and Statistics Institute, the incidence of extreme poverty, as measured by income, decreased from 36.7 per cent in 2007 to 21.5 per cent in 2017, and extreme poverty decreased from 16.5 per cent to 8.7 per cent. In the same period, the multidimensional poverty rate (which measures the set of deprivation of rights at the household level in the following dimensions: education; work and social security; health; water and food; habitat and housing; and healthy environment) decreased from 51.5 per cent to 34.6 per cent. However, the Committee notes that, on the basis of the concept paper for the National Development Plan 2017–2021, gaps by geographical area and population group persist, especially in rural areas, the Amazon, indigenous peoples and households with children under 15 years of age. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information, including statistics disaggregated by sex, age and region, on the measures taken and the results achieved by the National Development Plan 2017–2021, the “Lifetime Plan” and the “less poverty, more development mission”. The Committee also requests the Government to provide detailed and updated information on any measures designed to ensure the improvement of standards of living of the Ecuadorian population (Article 2), especially in relation to groups in vulnerable situations, such as women, young people, persons with disabilities, older adults, small-scale subsistence farmers and indigenous communities. The Committee also requests the Government to include updated information on the impact of these plans on the “such essential family needs of the workers as food and its nutritive value, housing, clothing, medical care and education” (Article 5(2)), in both urban and rural areas.

Part III. Migrant workers. The Committee notes the ratification by Ecuador of the Residency Agreement for Nationals of MERCOSUR and Associated States Parties published in Official Journal No. 209 in 2014, and the internal regulations set out in Ministerial Decree No. 000031, in which nationals of Argentina, the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay are established as beneficiaries of this visa category in Ecuador. Article 9 of the Agreement establishes the rights of immigrants and members of their families in the States parties. Specifically, Articles 9(1) and (2) provide for equality with nationals of the receiving country in respect of civil, social, cultural and economic rights and freedoms. In addition, Article 9(2) establishes the right of the migrant worker’s dependent family members to a residence permit which is valid for the same period as the worker's permit. Article 9(3) establishes the equal treatment of immigrants with respect to nationals of the country, especially with regard to remuneration, working conditions and social security. With regard to the right to transfer remittances, Article 9(5) provides that “immigrants from the Parties shall have the right freely to transfer to their country of origin their income and personal savings, in particular the funds necessary to support their families, in accordance with the regulations and domestic legislation of each of the Parties”. However, the Committee notes that, in its concluding observations of 5 October 2017, the United Nations Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (CMW) expressed concern regarding the cost of the visas provided for in the Agreement (between USD50 and USD300 per person) as, given the situation of many migrants and members of their families, these visas could be unaffordable. The Committee observes that the CMW also noted the establishment of the Directorate for the Integration of Returning Migrants (with eight branches in the eight district coordination offices) and took note of the various support programmes in place for returning migrants, in particular the Assisted Return Programme, business plans, employment programmes, and loan and housing subsidy programmes for returning migrants. However, the CMW regretted the lack of information on the impact that these programmes have in providing assistance to migrant workers and members of their families and promoting their reintegration (see CMW/C/ECU/CO/3, paragraphs 38 and 44). The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed and updated information on the measures adopted or envisaged with a view to ensuring the accessibility of the visas provided for in the Residency Agreement for Nationals of MERCOSUR and Associated States Parties for migrant workers and their families who are forced to live away from their homes. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the impact of reintegration programmes for returning migrant workers and their families. The Committee further requests the Government to provide statistical information, disaggregated by sex and age, on the number of migrant workers forced to live away from their homes.

Part IV. Remuneration of workers. Protection of wages. The Committee notes that the Government refers to the conclusion of several agreements establishing the basic unified wage and the payment of the thirteenth and fourteenth month. In this respect, the Committee notes the approval of Ministerial Order No. MDT-2018-270, fixing from 1 January 2019 the basic unified wage at USD394 per month for workers in general, including workers in small industry, agricultural workers and workers in export processing zones. The Committee also notes the adoption of Ministerial Decree No. MDT-2019-199 of 5 August 2019 regulating the payment of the thirteenth and fourteenth months to which workers and ex-workers are entitled from their employer, in accordance with the provisions of sections 111 and 113 of the Labour Code. It also establishes the conditions under which workers can agree with their employer the accumulation of the payment of these amounts, as well as supervision and the sanctions to be imposed by the inspection services in case of non-compliance. The Committee requests the Government to send updated information on the application in practice of the above-mentioned Ministerial Decrees. In particular, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the results of the supervision undertaken by the labour inspection services to ensure the normal and regular payment of wages, in conformity with the provisions of this Part of the Convention.

Advances on wages. For more than 20 years, the Committee has been requesting the Government to adopt the necessary measures to regulate the amounts of advances on wages, including advances which may be made to a worker to encourage him or her to take up employment and to establish the maximum amount of advances on wages above which any advance is legally irrecoverable. In this regard, in its 2014 comments, the Committee noted the draft Basic Code on Labour Relations presented by the Minister for Labour Relations to the National Assembly in May 2014, which included provisions setting limits on the amounts of advances on wages and regulating the form in which they are repaid. In this regard, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on any progress made in the adoption of this draft legislation. The Committee notes, however that the Government has not provided information in its report in this respect. The Committee therefore urges the Government to adopt the necessary measures to regulate the maximum amount and the method of reimbursement of advances on wages; limit the amount of advances which may be made to a worker in order to encourage him or her to take up employment and clearly indicate to the worker the amount authorized; and declare legally irrecoverable any advance in excess of the amount fixed by the competent authority and prevent this advance from being recovered by the withholding of amounts due to the worker at a later date. The Committee also reiterates its request to the Government to provide information on any progress made in the adoption of the draft Basic Code on Labour Relations of 2014, and particularly to indicate any amendments made by the draft Basic Code to the provisions regulating the maximum amount and the method of reimbursement of salary advances.