The Global Rights Index 2023 measures the guarantees and rights of workers in each country. Ecuador is on the list for the violation of three collective labor rights.
The collective rights of workers are a debt of Ecuador, according to the latest Global Rights Index. The report places Ecuador among the 10 worst countries for having regressive laws and for police violence against strikers.
The report is prepared by the International Trade Union Confederation, the world’s largest union, which each year rates countries according to their degree of compliance with collective labor rights and violations of internationally recognized rights.
This time, the novelty is that Ecuador entered the list of worst countries in the matter, along with Bangladesh, Belarus, Egypt, Eswatini, the Philippines, Guatemala, Myanmar, Tunisia and Turkey.
The organization records violations regarding 97 indicators derived from the conventions and jurisprudence of the International Labor Organization (ILO) to which Ecuador is a subscriber. And the rating varies between 1 and 5 points:
- Sporadic violations of rights.
- Repeated violations of rights.
- Regular violations of rights.
- Systematic violations of rights.
- Rights not guaranteed.
And there is a last group that automatically gets a 5+ because labor rights are not guaranteed due to the breach of the rule of law, which stems from an internal conflict or a military occupation.
However, it must be clarified that, although Ecuador is located in the highest and negative point of the scale from 1 to 5 points, there are other countries in the region that obtain the same qualification: Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti and Peru.
The collective labor right that has been most violated in the region is the right to strike, followed by the rights to union registration, collective bargaining, union membership, collective association, and access to justice.
Also, on the list of violations are arrests and detentions, violence, the restriction of freedom of expression and assembly, as well as the murder of trade unionists.
The details
The fact that Ecuador is located in the top 10 of 2023 is due to the fact that the status of collective labor rights has not changed and, especially, to the last national strike , in June 2022.
The report states that “the massive protests in favor of democracy and collective rights, called by organizations of indigenous peoples and unions, were brutally repressed and resulted in arrests, injuries and deaths .”
The document explains that the legal framework for workers’ rights in Ecuador is “extremely restrictive” and that it continues to hinder the development of strong independent unions.
As well as that the authorities continue to prevent the registration of public and private unions. According to the index, there are three collective rights that are violated in Ecuador:
- The right to freedom of association presents:
- Legal barriers to the establishment of organizations.
- Restrictions on forming and joining organizations of their own choosing.
- Restrictions on unions to organize their administration.
- Categories of workers who are prohibited or restricted by law from forming or joining unions, or from holding union office.
- Right to collective bargaining has:
- Legal obstacles to the recognition of collective bargaining agents.
- Restrictions on the principle of free and voluntary negotiation.
- Restrictions or prohibitions on collective bargaining in some sectors.
- And the right to strike is limited by:
- Restrictions for certain types of strike action.
- Provisions that undermine the use of strike action or its effectiveness.
- Limitations or prohibition to strike in some sectors.
The information for the index is collected directly with the trade union organizations of each country, not with governments or employers.
Afterwards, the International Trade Union Confederation holds regional meetings with experts in human and trade union rights to complete the information.
Finally, a group of legal researchers analyze the legislation of each country and identify sections in which the internationally recognized collective rights of workers are not being adequately protected.
Legal reforms ‘stuck’
The trade union centrals in the country have spent more than a decade promoting a new Labor Code, without success.
President Guillermo Lasso himself offered a profound labor reform that was not possible due to clashes with the National Assembly and the unions.
In the absence of a proposal from the Executive, the Assembly advanced in the processing of the project presented by the Unitary Front of Workers , under the auspices of Pachakutik, to which contributions were added.
However, with the cross death and the change of authorities scheduled for the last quarter of 2023, legislative work in the country will remain stagnant for a few more months.
And the next Assembly will have just a little more than a year to catch up with the pending in all matters.