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New modality of banana contract will be issued today
Posted On 23 Feb 2018
Ecuadornews:
It is the first of the seven contractual figures announced by the Labor portfolio. The ministerial agreements took time to include elements requested by workers and employers.
The Ministry of Labor will issue today the first ministerial agreement of the seven new contractual modalities presented in January. This was confirmed to newspaper el telegrafo by the head of the State portfolio, Raúl Ledesma, who indicated that the first sector benefited will be the banana sector.
For the other segments (aquaculture / agriculture, floriculture, tourism, livestock, artists and construction -in attention to the Plan House for All-) will be issued from next week. The delay of the agreements, explained Ledesma, was due to last-minute requirements on the part of workers and employers. The former requested to add specific specifications on protections for non-precarious work.
For example, prohibit the migration of an indefinite contract. “A worker who is already hired cannot be transferred to these modalities. It is only for those who do not have a job or who are in underemployment. The idea is to regularize, “he said. Another demand was to detail the payment of supplementary and extraordinary hours.
On behalf of employers, it was requested to review the percentage increase in value / hour that was initially between 15% and 25%. The request was accepted because the 7 activities mentioned are exporters and this could reduce their competitiveness. It is thus, said Ledesma, that an adjustment was made to leave it up to 20%. Eduardo Ledesma, president of the Banana Association of Ecuador (ABDE), stressed that the new contract modalities are adjusted to the needs of each sector allowing the formalization of workers, in this case, the field and packaging crews.
“These agreements will allow us to hire the people necessary for these activities by paying the corresponding values according to the salary of the banana sector, including a surcharge and the benefits of law, such as Social Security,” he noted. The businessman applauds the measure and considers it the first of many steps to follow to improve the country’s productivity.
To this, there is speed in the process and promotion of foreign trade, among other aspects. The goal of the Government with new contract figures is to generate around 236,253 jobs in four years, according to the announcement of January 3.
They will operate for extraordinary activities within the ordinary course of business. The reduction of the payroll of stable workers will not be allowed. Any attempt of labor migration from indefinite contracts to the new models will imply a sanction of up to three basic salaries ($ 1,158).
After the publication and application of the agreements, the Ministry will wait a quarter maximum to evaluate and continue with other sectors. The first on the list is transportation (taxis and buses).
In 2017, 13,230 servers were added
The head of Labor, Raúl Ledesma, also referred to the number of new employees incorporated into the public sector in 2017. He clarified that they were 13,230 in total and not 50,000 as was speculated in a printed media. With base to the distributive one sent by the Ministry of Finances, with cut to May of the last year, between the different functions of the State was arrived at 480,475 public servants. Until January 2018 the figure was 493,705.
“The information presented by a recognized media is based on a statistical projection,” said Ledesma, who assured that the Ministry was not consulted on the subject. Of the more than 13,000 employees, 11,230 belong to the Executive Function, 1,120 to the Electoral, 690 to the Judicial and 300 to Transparency and Social Control.
The increase in the Executive part corresponds to areas of social attention, “it is not that we have hired consultants, they are technical works in the territory”. 97% of the new employees in this function are distributed in health (6.062), education (3.064) and security (1.741). The remaining 3% comply with substantive processes. (I)
