Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2004, published 93rd ILC session (2005)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Ecuador (Ratification: 1972)

1. Coordination of employment policies with economic and social policy. In a short report received in September 2003, the Government indicates that a new State budget is under discussion and that measures will be approved to reactivate the construction sector. The Government recalls that employment surveys are undertaken by INEC. The Committee notes that the unemployment rate in Ecuador (6.7 per cent in 2003 and 6.3 per cent in 2002) has undergone a moderate increase as a result of the contraction of the non-oil export sectors and the deceleration of migration abroad. The annual urban youth unemployment rate was 17.4 per cent and the informal economy accounted for over 55 per cent of the population in 2002 (ILO, Labour Overview 2003). This labour market situation leads the Committee to refer once again to its previous comments in which it pointed out that, to achieve the objectives of full and productive employment set out in the Convention, government policies should give priority to employment promotion and social development to combat poverty. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information in its next report on the manner in which employment policy objectives are related to other economic and social objectives (Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention).

2. The Committee once again requests information on the situation, level and trends of employment, underemployment and unemployment throughout the country and the extent to which they affect the most vulnerable categories of workers (such as women, young persons and rural workers), who tend to experience most difficulty in finding lasting employment. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would indicate the manner in which the statistical data compiled served as a basis for the establishment of economic and social policies which give priority to the creation of productive employment.

3. Social partners’ participation. The Committee notes the Government’s statement on the trends with regard to participation in Ecuadorian society. The Committee emphasizes that the consultations required by Article 3 of the Convention have to address the measures to be adopted in relation to employment policy with the objective of taking fully into account the experience and views of the persons consulted and securing their full cooperation in formulating and enlisting support for such policies. Consultations with the representatives of the persons affected should include in particular the representatives of employers and workers, as well as representatives of other sectors of the economically active population, such as those working in the rural sector and the informal economy. The Committee requests the Government to provide information in its next report on the consultations required by this provision of the Convention.

4. ILO technical cooperation. The Government refers in its report to a wide-ranging process of cooperation with the Office. The Committee requests the Government to include information in its next report on the action taken as a result of the ILO’s technical assistance in the field of employment policy (Part V of the report form).