Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

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 the information provided by the Government concerning the impact of the measures adopted under the National Development Plan 2017-2021 (NDP) to achieve the objectives of the Convention. The Plan includes measures to combat poverty and inequality and to promote employment, particularly in rural areas and for citizens belonging to the indigenous, Montubio and Afro-Ecuadorian peoples. Among the NDP goals, the Committee observes the goal of reducing the incidence of extreme poverty, as measured by income, from 8.7 per cent to 3.5 per cent by 2021, and the goal of reducing the multidimensional poverty rate from 35.2 per cent to 27.4 per cent by 2021. However, the Committee notes from the information provided by the Government that between 2019 and 2020 the incidence of extreme poverty by income rose from 8.9 per cent to 14.89 per cent, while multidimensional poverty also increased, from 38.1 per cent to 40.2 per cent. The NDP also included the reduction of the income gap between the poorest decile and the richest decile to less than twenty times by 2021 among its objectives. The Government reports, however, that the income difference between the poorest and richest deciles increased from 23.3 times in 2019 to 34 times in 2020. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that this structural indicator responds to various factors, such as the economic downturn, falling employment rates and the COVID-19 health emergency. In this regard, the Committee notes that the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESC), in its concluding observations of 14 November 2019, was concerned about the continuing gap between rural and urban areas and the significant proportion of indigenous people, people of African descent and Montubio people who are living below the poverty line (document E/C.12/ECU/CO/4, paragraph 41). Another objective of the NDP, to be achieved by 2021, was to increase from 65.87 per cent to 75.02 per cent the percentage of educational institutions proposing intercultural, bilingual courses in zones with a majority of the population belonging to an indigenous community. The Government reports that this percentage increased from 66.3 per cent in 2019 to 66.6 per cent in 2020. The NDP also includes among its objectives increasing the percentage of indigenous persons in suitable employment from 26.3 per cent to 29.19 per cent by 2021. The Committee notes however that the Government reports a fall in this percentage from 23.2 per cent in 2019 to 15.2 per cent in 2020. Consequently, the Committee observes that most of the objectives established in the NDP 2017-2021 were not reached. On the other hand, the Committee notes that under the “Lifetime Plan”, the objective of which was to progress towards a more fair, equitable and supportive society, different measures have been taken, such as the granting of a conditional monthly transfer of US$240 to support persons with rare or catastrophic diseases, orphans or minors under 18 years of age living with HIV, in a critical socioeconomic situation. The Government reports that as of May 2020, the monthly transfer had been granted to approximately 38,771 persons, of whom 88 per cent had a severe disability, 10 per cent had a catastrophic or rare disease or were orphans and 2 per cent were minors under 18 years of age living with HIV. The Government adds that 52 per cent of beneficiaries were men and 48 per cent were women. Furthermore, the Committee notes the adoption in 2019 of the technical standard applying the principle of preferential employment for persons belonging to Amazonian peoples and nationalities, and that between 2019 and 2020, a total of 42,210 people had benefited therefrom. Finally, the Committee notes the adoption of the Basic Act on Elderly Persons of 2019, which aims to promote and ensure the rights of the elderly. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing detailed and updated information on the measures aimed at ensuring an improved standard of living for the Ecuadorian population (Article 2), especially as concerns groups in vulnerable situations, such as women, young persons, persons with disabilities, the elderly, small producers practicing subsistence agriculture, indigenous communities and persons in remote and rural zones of the country. Considering the high percentage of the population living in extreme poverty, the Committee also requests the Government to take the necessary action to ensure that such measures take account of the essential family needs of the workers, such as food and its nutritive value, housing, clothing, medical care and education (article 5(2)).

Part III. Migrant workers. The Government reports that with a view to implementing public policies aimed at integrating returning migrants, four working parties were held in 2018, with the participation of State institutions and members of civil society, and that they resulted in the instigation of the National Board for Human Mobility. Within this framework, the Intersectoral Board for the Care and Integration of the Ecuadorian Migrant Community was set up, to deal with matters related to returning migrants. The Committee notes that the National Council for Equality in Human Mobility formulated the National Agenda for Equality in Human Mobility (ANIMH) 2017-2021, which includes policies and action specifically related to labour inclusion and protection of the labour rights of migrant Ecuadorians, returned Ecuadorians, foreign immigrants, stateless foreign persons with refugee status, victims of trafficking in persons and/or illicit traffic of migrants. The results and the implementation of public policies produced by the above include: monthly courses and workshops at national level, led by the Ministry of Labour, for returned migrants on financial management, commercial project design and evaluation; the creation of the “Migrants Productive Credit” programme to encourage the economic insertion of migrants; and the establishment of the Human Mobility Helpdesk in the Ministry of Labour to provide preferential care for returning migrants. In this regard, the Government refers to the most relevant action taken to implement the policies on returned Ecuadorians, such as the granting of 1,583 credits to returned migrants between 2017 and 2020, under the “Migrants Productive Credit” programme, as well as tax exemptions for enterprises that contract returned Ecuadorian migrants. The Committee also notes that employment fairs for returned migrants were held in 2017 and 2019, with the participation of the private sector and of public sector institutions. The Committee further notes the statistical information provided by the Government, concerning migrant workers in Ecuador forced to live outside their countries of origin. Regarding the question of the accessibility of visas included in the Residency Agreement for Nationals of the States Parties to the Common Market of the Southern Cone (MERCOSUR) and Associated States, the Government indicates that the tariff for a temporary or permanent MERCOSUR residence visa stands at US$250 in Ecuador, pointing out that this tariff is far lower than that required in other countries party to the Agreement. It adds that the tariff is more favourable still, as it does not require advance payment and is reimbursed if the visa request is rejected. The Government also indicates that the tariff for temporary or permanent residence visas for Colombian citizens is only US$50, due to the high demand for visas. Moreover, the Government reports on the adoption of Executive Decree No. 826 of 2019, granting migratory amnesty to Venezuelan citizens and establishing an exceptional temporary residence visa for special humanitarian reasons allowing them to work, at no charge and without limit of validity. The Government adds that a discount of 50 per cent is applicable to the visa tariff for persons aged 65 and over and foreign persons with 30 or more per cent disability are exonerated from any payment. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed and updated information on the measures adopted or envisaged with a view to ensuring the accessibility of 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 further requests the Government to continue to provide detailed and updated information on the impact of reintegration programmes for returning migrant workers and their families. The Committee also requests the Government to continue providing 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 Government reports that as a result of the National Labour and Wages Council being unable to achieve consensus on fixing the basic unified wage, the Ministry of Labour set it at US$400 a month, through Ministerial Decision No. MDT-2020-249 of 30 November 2020. The Government clarifies that the Ministry of Labour fixed the amount of the basic unified wage by applying a percentage equivalent to the consumer price index, in conformity with section 118 of the Labour Code and section 6 of Ministerial decision No. MDT-2020-185 of 17 September 2020, establishing the technical procedure for calculating the annual variation of the basic unified wage. The Committee notes that the amount of the basic unified wage for 2022 was fixed by the Ministry of Labour at US$425, through Ministerial Decision No. MDT-2021-276, of 21 December 2021, as a result of the National Labour and Wages Council failing to come to reach consensus on the amount. In this respect, the Committee notes that the fixing of the basic unified wage was not subject to tripartite consensus. On another matter, the Committee notes the statistical information provided by the Government regarding the labour inspection visits conducted in 2021 with a view to sanctioning employers that had not paid, or who had fallen behind in the payment of wages, and for failing to pay such benefits as the thirteenth and fourteenth months. However, the Committee observes that although 667 inspection visits were conducted in the Ibarra regional directorate, and 918 in Guayaquil, no penalties were imposed. Consequently, the Committee requests the Government to take measures to promote the fixing of the basic unified wage in consultation with the representatives of the employers and workers, as provided by Article 10(2) of the Convention. In this regard, the Committee refers to its 2021 comments relating to the application on the Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131). The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the results of the supervision undertaken by the labour inspection services to ensure the normal and regular payment of wages, particularly in the regional directorates of Ibarra and Guayaquil, including information on the number of inspections, the number and type of violations identified, the result of the inspections and the penalties imposed.

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 in consideration of the worker’s taking up 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 indicates that while the legislation in force contains no provisions governing the number or amount of advances a worker may request, it does not rule out the drafting of a complementary regulation to reinforce the principal legislation. Taking the above into account, the Committee urges the Government to adopt without delay 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 urges 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.