Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019)

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

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Implementation of an active employment policy. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to indicate the manner in which the National Plan for Good Living has contributed to achieving employment objectives and the integration of workers from vulnerable groups. It also requested the Government to indicate the manner in which the employment measures, policies and programmes adopted are coordinated with other economic and social policy measures. The Committee notes with interest that, according to the information published on the website of the Ministry of Labour, in January 2018 the National Employment Policy was launched with a view to promoting work opportunities and reducing the unemployment, underemployment and informality rates in the country. Within this framework, seven new types of contracts have been proposed to regularize, among other sectors, tourism, agriculture, stock raising and construction. The National Employment Policy forms part of the National Development Strategy, which guarantees access to decent work, social security and equality of opportunity. The Committee also notes that in October 2017 the National Development Plan 2017–21 was adopted. The Committee further notes the reference by the Government in its report to the specific objectives of the National Plan for Good Living in relation to the promotion of the labour market integration of groups in vulnerable situations. In this context, the Government reports the adoption of various measures with a view to promoting the employment of persons belonging to Afro Ecuadorian, indigenous and Montubio peoples, as well as action for the certification of their labour skills. However, the Committee notes that the Government has not provided information in its report on the impact of the Plan, the implementation of which came to an end in 2017. Nor has the Government included information on the manner in which the employment measures, policies and programmes adopted are coordinated with other economic and social policy measures. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed and updated information on the measures adopted to achieve the objectives of the Convention, and particularly on the manner in which these measures have helped beneficiaries (and particularly women, persons with disabilities, informal economy workers, rural workers and indigenous peoples) to obtain full, productive and lasting employment. The Committee also requests the Government to provide detailed information, disaggregated by sex, age and region, on the impact of these measures. The Committee reiterates its request to the Government to provide detailed and updated information on the manner in which the employment measures, policies and programmes adopted are coordinated with other economic and social policy measures.

Labour market trends. In reply to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government indicates that, according to the National Survey of Unemployment, Underemployment and Employment of the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC), in March 2017, there were 8.1 million economically active persons and 3.6 million persons who were not economically active. The Government adds that, at the same period, the gross employment rate was 65.9 per cent and the unemployment rate was 4.4 per cent (3.6 per cent for men and 5.5 per cent for women). The Government further indicates that the underemployment rate was 22.7 per cent for men, compared with 19.5 per cent for women. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing updated statistical information, disaggregated by age and sex, on employment, underemployment and unemployment trends, with an indication of the extent to which young persons, indigenous peoples and other vulnerable groups are affected.

Youth employment. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the measures adopted with a view to promoting the labour market integration of young persons. In this regard, the Government indicates that the Mi Primer Empleo project is continuing to be implemented, in which context paid internships are planned for young persons between 18 and 29 years of age who are still engaged in studies or have left higher education institutions. The project gives priority to the participation, among others, of young students in vulnerable situations, pregnant women, persons with disabilities and young persons in rural areas. The Government indicates that, between 2007 and 2017, a total of 15,759 young persons participated in the project (7,110 of them found employment), of whom 59 per cent were women and 1 per cent were disabled. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that, in response to the issue of unemployment among young persons between 18 and 26 years of age, the Basic Act for the promotion of youth employment, the exceptional regulation of working hours, termination of employment and unemployment insurance, and its Regulations, were adopted in 2016. The Committee notes that the Act and its Regulations envisage, among other measures, the payment of the employer’s contribution by the Central State for the two basic wages of workers for a year, and entitlement to unemployment insurance. The Committee further notes that the Act and the Regulations envisage alternative procedures for termination, namely the reduction and extension of hours of work, which can be used by employers facing adverse economic conditions. The Committee also notes that, according to the information published by the Ministry of Labour, it is planned to create a so called youth contract, focusing on the labour market integration of 60,000 young persons between 18 and 26 years of age by 2021. In this context, the provision of a subsidy is envisaged to 250,000 employers for the recruitment of interns at half the labour market cost. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing detailed and updated information, disaggregated by sex and age, on the impact of the measures adopted on the creation of productive and lasting employment opportunities for young persons.

The popular and solidarity economy. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the manner in which the measures adopted to promote the popular and solidarity economy had contributed to employment generation, particularly in areas affected by lower levels of economic development. The Government reports that, between 2008 and 2016, a series of measures were implemented with the objective of extending and deepening the popular and solidarity economy, including progress in the field of legislation, institutions, monitoring and supervision, as well as the strengthening and financing of organizations in the sector. The Government adds that savings and credit cooperatives and the network of popular financing have had a broader impact, reaching out to marginal geographical sectors where the population lives under less favourable socio economic conditions, including the rural population and population groups suffering from high levels of poverty. The Government further adds that 42 per cent of the persons who had access to financing through loans were women. The Committee notes that the National Development Plan 2017–21 provides for the strengthening of support to informal economy actors through the adoption of measures for their effective inclusion in the economy, such as the reduction of administrative procedures and preferential access to financing and public contracts. The Plan also has the objective of increasing the percentage of total purchases undertaken by supermarkets and similar institutions from actors in the popular and solidarity economy, craft workers and micro, small and medium-sized suppliers. Nevertheless, the Committee notes that the Government has not included information in its report on the impact on employment generation of the measures adopted in relation to the popular and solidarity economy. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to indicate the manner in which the measures adopted in relation to the popular and solidarity economy, including those adopted within the context of the National Development Plan 2017-20, have contributed to employment generation, and particularly in areas with lower levels of economic development.

Regional development and rural employment. The Committee notes that the Government’s report does not contain information on this subject. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to provide updated and detailed information on the impact of the measures adopted to promote the creation of productive employment in rural areas.

Article 3. Participation of the social partners. The Committee notes the Government’s information concerning the participation of workers’ and employers’ organizations, as well as young persons from rural areas, in the development of the Employment and Labour Policy through technical meetings and social dialogue. The Committee further notes the creation of the National Labour and Wage Board, as a tripartite advisory and technical body within the Ministry of Labour, the responsibilities of which include the promotion of social dialogue on labour and employment policy. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed and updated information on the manner in which the social partners, including representatives of the rural sector and the informal economy, participate in the design, implementation and evaluation of employment policies.