Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

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

Formulation of an employment policy. Labour market situation. The Committee notes the Government’s report received in October 2011 containing replies to its 2010 comments and a copy of the Ecuador Productive Agenda. The Ecuador Productive Agenda 2010–13 envisages improving labour productivity, decent wages and the generation of job opportunities without any type of discrimination. The Government indicates in its report that priority is given in the action of the Ministry of Labour Relations to intensive vocational training, especially targeted at the most vulnerable social groups, the abolition of precarious forms of labour, the creation of employment programmes for youth and the articulation of the supply of vocational training with the National Economic Inclusion Plan. The Committee observes that the Ecuadorean economy grew by 8 per cent in 2011. According to ECLAC in its Preliminary Overview of the Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean, economic growth continues to be led by internal demand, the principal motor of which has been strong public expenditure. The unemployment level fell from 7.6 per cent in 2010 to 6 per cent in 2011. There was also an improvement in the quality of employment as the underemployment rate was 46 per cent in September 2011, 4 percentage points lower than the rate in September 2010. The Committee invites the Government to continue to provide information to enable it to examine the progress made in achieving the objectives of full and productive employment set out in Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. The Committee invites the Government to provide information on the discussions held in the National Labour Council on the formulation and implementation of an active employment policy. The Committee hopes that the Government will include examples of the manner in which citizen’s participation in people’s assemblies has made it possible to take into account the views and experience of the persons affected by employment policy measures, and particularly those working in the rural sector and the informal economy (Article 3).

Compilation of labour market data. Coordination of employment policy with economic and social policy. The Committee welcomes the inclusion in the Government’s report of the detailed employment statistics of the National Institute for Statistics and Censuses (IMEC). The Committee invites the Government to continue to provide up-to-date information on the situation, level and trends of employment, unemployment and underemployment and on the employment situation of the most vulnerable categories of workers, such as women, youth and rural workers. The Committee also invites the Government to indicate the manner in which the information that is compiled has contributed to the analysis of the labour market and to the adoption of new employment policy measures in the framework of a coordinated economic and social policy.

Youth employment. The Government indicates that the programme Mi Primer Empleo has achieved good results by providing the opportunity to undertake paid traineeships for young persons between 18 and 29 years of age studying in institutions recognized by the Higher Education Council. Five per cent of the internships are for young persons with disabilities. In 2011, something over US$2 million was available to subsidize internships. The Committee invites the Government to provide further information in its next report on the effect achieved by the measures adopted to help young persons find long-term employment and remain in the labour market.

Regional integration and rural development. In reply to its previous comments, the Government enumerates the functions of the Undersecretariat for National and Territorial Planning and Public Policies. The Committee invites the Government to provide more detailed information on regional development policies to ensure a balanced distribution of economic activity in the country.

Small and medium-sized enterprises. The Government indicates that the Undersecretariat for Micro, Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises has a budget of US$90 million to implement support programmes over three years for micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises, intended to improve their productivity and competitiveness and to develop productive networks. The Committee invites the Government to provide more detailed information on the labour market impact of programmes to promote the creation of productive employment through micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises. The Committee reiterates its request to the Government to indicate the most effective programmes to help precarious workers and those in the informal economy to find productive and lasting employment.

Coordination of education and training policy with employment opportunities. In reply to previous comments, the Government indicates that productive assets, such as land and credit, are badly distributed in the country, and labour is the only real asset available to people for integration into productive life and to overcome poverty. The relatively low unemployment rate conceals a structural problem of precarious work in the labour market and the quality of the work that is in demand. The analysis made in the Productive Agenda shows that sectors with low added value are those in which the largest proportion of the labour force, mainly low-skilled, is concentrated. The national survey of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises in the manufacturing industry, carried out in January 2008 at the initiative of the Ministry of Industry and Competitiveness and the National Federation of Chambers of Small Industry of Ecuador (FENAPI), found that, of the 4,000 enterprises assessed in all provinces in 2007, those which prepared their employees the most were medium-sized enterprises and small enterprises (76 per cent and 58 per cent of enterprises, respectively). The enterprises that contributed the least to developing the productive skills of their workers were micro-enterprises, which only trained 33 per cent of them. According to the Productive Agenda, it is necessary to work intensively in cooperation with employers to develop the productive skills of their employees. In its General Survey concerning employment instruments, 2010, the Committee also emphasized the increasingly important role of the social partners and training institutions in determining human resources development strategies. The Committee invites the Government to indicate in its next report the manner in which workers’ and employers’ representatives have contributed to the development of vocational training mechanisms. The Committee reiterates its interest in being able to examine information enabling it to assess the impact of the measures adopted by the National Vocational Training Council for the coordination of vocational education and training policies with employment opportunities.