Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2006, published 96th ILC session (2007)

Protection of Wages Convention, 1949 (No. 95) - Ecuador (Ratification: 1954)

The Committee notes the information in the Government’s report and would like to receive further details concerning the following points.

Article 4 of the Convention. Partial payment of wages in kind. The Committee notes the Government’s indications to the effect that the payment of wages in the form of liquor of high alcoholic content or of noxious drugs is not permitted and that the laws and regulations in force guarantee the following: (i) allowances in kind are appropriate for the personal use and benefit of the worker; and (ii) the value attributed to such allowances is fair and reasonable. In this regard, the Committee wishes to refer to paragraph 510 of its 2003 General Survey on protection of wages, in which it points out that some provisions of the Convention require specific practices to be prohibited or regulated in a certain way and thus require legislative provisions to this effect, while others merely require certain practices to be followed, and thus seem to leave scope for implementation by various means, including custom or practice. Recalling that the provisions of Article 4 of the Convention are not immediately binding and that the competent authorities are required to take the necessary measures of application to ensure their fulfilment, the Committee hopes that the Government will do its utmost to take such measures so as to bring its legislation into full conformity with the Convention in this regard.

Article 10. Attachment and assignment of wages. The Committee notes the information to the effect that, under article 35 of the Constitution and section 91 of the Labour Code, a worker’s wages may only be attached for the purpose of securing the payment of an alimony. With regard to the prohibition on the assignment of wages, the Committee understands that the National Congress will shortly analyse the reforms so as to take into consideration the Committee’s suggestions regarding this matter. In this connection, the Committee reminds the Government that it is important to set an overall limit for authorized attachments and assignments of wages to the extent necessary to guarantee workers and their families a minimum subsistence income. The Committee therefore asks the Government to ensure that effect is given to this provision of the Convention and to provide a copy of the relevant texts once they have been adopted.

Article 14(b). Informing workers of the particulars of their wages. The Committee notes the information indicating that section 42 of the Labour Code requires the employer to pay the amounts corresponding to the worker and that the Labour Inspectorate is responsible for checking that employers fulfil their obligations. In this regard, the Committee wishes to refer to paragraph 508 of its 2003 General Survey, according to which the obligation of employers to keep workers informed of the wage conditions applicable during the employment relationship is based on the idea that the worker should put his/her labour at the service of the employer in full cognizance of the exact conditions, form and amount of payment that he/she expects to receive in return. The Committee requests the Government to specify how it ensures that workers are informed, at the time of each payment of wages, of the particulars of their wages for the pay period concerned (for example, the net and gross amount of the wages, the deductions made and the reasons why, etc.), in accordance with this provision of the Convention.

Part V of the report form. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide general information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including, for instance, extracts from inspection service reports indicating the number of infringements reported and the penalties imposed in relation to wage protection, details of the conditions and limits of wage payments in kind, information on any difficulties encountered in ensuring the regular payment of wages and any other particulars relating to the application and fulfilment of the provisions of the Convention.