Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 412, November 2025

Case No 3437 (Ecuador) - Complaint date: 17-OCT-22 - Follow-up

Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body

1. 28. The Committee last examined this case at its meeting in October 2023 [404th Report, paras 350–361]. The Committee recalls that this case concerns the alleged refusal by the Ministry of Labour to register the Ecuadorian Digital Platform Workers’ Front (FRENAPP), an organization that aims to bring together workers from the various digital platforms operating in Ecuador.
2. 29. On that occasion, the Committee: (a) urged the Government to take the necessary measures to complete the registration process of FRENAPP without delay, requesting the Government to keep it informed in this regard; (b) referred the follow-up of the legislative aspects of this case to the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) and urged the Government to avail itself of the technical assistance of the Office in order to proceed with a reform of its legislation without delay in the manner indicated in the present conclusions; and (c) requested the Government and the complainant organization to keep it informed of the outcome of the action for non-compliance brought by FRENAPP against the Ministry of Labour before the Constitutional Court.
3. 30. The complainant organization provided additional information in communications dated 31 January and 30 April 2024. In its communication of 31 January 2024, FRENAPP: (i) states that the Ministry of Labour has still not registered FRENAPP and has not adopted regulations to allow the creation of trade unions by branch of activity, despite the request made by the Criminal Chamber of the Provincial Court of Justice of Pichincha in the judgment of 25 May 2021; (ii) alleges that it has been the victim of a smear campaign on social media and having received death threats from platform companies, forcing several union leaders to leave the country; and (iii) states that, as a result of the above, FRENAPP filed five criminal complaints in January and February 2023. In its communication of 30 April 2024, the complainant organization indicates that on 1 April 2024, the Constitutional Court took up the action for non compliance brought by FRENAPP against the Ministry of Labour, but that the decision of the constitutional body is still pending.
4. 31. The Government submitted its observations in communications dated 10 January, 30 April and 1 June 2024. The Committee notes that, after recalling the constitutional and legislative provisions of Ecuador that enshrine freedom of association, the Government reaffirms in its communication of 30 April 2024 that Ecuadorian legislation does not establish associative mechanisms by branch of work that empower workers from different companies to associate for labour purposes. The Government adds that the ruling of 25 May 2021 of the Pichincha Court referred to by the complainant organization is not erga omnes in nature, so that it is strictly binding on the trade union organization that brought the legal action (namely, the Trade Union Association of Rural Banana Workers – ASTAC – and not FRENAPP) and that the provisions of that court regarding the adoption of regulations to allow the creation of trade unions by branch of activity must be addressed by the legislative branch. The Committee notes that, in its communication of 1 June 2024, the Government states that workers on digital platforms, as they do not have a common employer, i.e. as there is no relationship of employment dependency, which is a sine qua non requirement for forming a trade union organization, they may associate under the guidelines of Executive Decree No. 193, which in its section 3 defines a social organization as “one whose purpose is not to obtain an economic benefit but mainly to achieve a social, altruistic, humanitarian, artistic, community, cultural, sporting and/or environmental goal”.
5. 32. The Committee recalls that the present case concerns the refusal to register a sectoral trade union organization. While noting that the Government’s observations consist mainly of reiterating that the legislative provisions relating to the creation of trade union organizations refer only to organizations created by workers from the same company, an aspect that has been referred to the attention of the CEACR, the Committee notes that: (i) it has not been informed of the measures taken by the Government to complete the registration process of FRENAPP (recommendation (a) of the Committee); (ii) the resolution of the claim for legal protection initiated by FRENAPP against the Ministry of Labour is still pending (recommendation (c)).
6. 33. The Committee recalls once again that the free exercise of the right to establish and join unions implies the free determination of the structure and composition of unions and that workers should be free to decide whether they prefer to establish, at the primary level, a works union or another form of basic organization, such as an industrial or craft union [see Compilation of decisions of the Committee on Freedom of Association, sixth edition, 2018, paras 502 and 504]. The Committee also reiterates that it has considered that, by virtue of the principles of freedom of association, all workers – with the sole exception of members of the armed forces and the police – should have the right to establish and join organizations of their own choosing, and that the criterion for determining the persons covered by that right, therefore, is not based on the existence of an employment relationship, which is often non-existent, for example in the case of agricultural workers, self employed workers in general or those who practise liberal professions, who should nevertheless enjoy the right to organize [see Compilation, para. 387].
7. 34. On the basis of the foregoing, the Committee once again urges the Government to take the necessary measures without delay to complete the registration process of FRENAPP and requests that it be kept informed in this regard. The Committee also requests once again the Government and the complaining organization to keep it informed of the outcome of the action for non-compliance brought against the Ministry of Labour by FRENAPP before the Constitutional Court.
8. 35. With regard to the allegations of death threats against leaders of FRENAPP, the Committee recalls that the exercise of trade union rights is incompatible with violence or threats of any kind and it is for the authorities to investigate without delay and, if necessary, penalize any act of this kind [see Compilation, para. 88]. The Committee firmly expects that the criminal proceedings initiated by FRENAPP in relation to these allegations will be examined with due attention and speed and requests the Government and the complainant organization to provide information on the progress and results of these proceedings.