European Union Statement 

112th International Labour Conference

Committee on Application of Standards

Ecuador

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87)

Geneva, 11 June 2024

Thank you Chair.

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

The candidate countries North Macedonia*, Montenegro* and Albania*, and the EFTA country Norway, member of the European Economic Area align themselves with this statement.

1. The EU and its Member States are committed to the respect, protection, and fulfilment of human rights, including labour rights. We promote universal ratification and effective implementation of fundamental ILO Conventions and support the ILO in developing and promoting international labour standards and supervising their application.
2. Following the Conference Committee’s conclusions in June 2022, the Government of Ecuador was invited to avail itself of technical assistance from the Office and was requested to accept a direct contacts mission. We note the government’s indication that it will resume talks with ILO this year with a view to a possible direct contacts mission. We express our hope that swift progress will be made in this regard.
3. We note the allegations submitted by trade unions and the Government’s partial reply, including on the alleged detentions of demonstrators during a national strike in 2021, the remaining obstacles to the functioning of trade unions and the possible repression of social mobilization or protests. We echo the call of the Committee of Experts' to provide more information on these issues.
4. We note with regret that no progress has been made in the investigation of the murder in January 2022 of Mr Sandro Arteaga Quiroz, secretary of the Union of Workers of the Manabi Provincial Government. We strongly urge the Government to take the necessary actions without delay to ensure criminal prosecution and sentencing for this crime.
5. We take note of the serious restrictions to freedom of association and the right to organize in the private sector. We echo the Committee of Experts’ call urging the Government to review several sections of its legislation, in consultation with social partners. Several sections of the Labour Code need to be revised to reduce the minimum number of members required to establish workers’ associations and enterprise committees, enable the establishment of trade unions organizations by branch of activity, remove the requirement of Ecuadorian nationality to be eligible to be an officer of an enterprise committee and authorize non-unionized workers to participate in enterprise committee elections. We recall that trade union elections are an internal matter for the organizations. For this reason, we also expect the amendment of the Regulations on Labour Organizations No. 0130 of 2013 which provides compulsory time limits for convening trade union elections.
6. We also note concerns raised by the Committee of Experts in relation to freedom of association and the right to organise in the public sector. Given the exclusion of certain categories of public employees from the right to organize, we urge the Government to bring its legislation into conformity to ensure that all workers, with the sole exception of police and armed forces, are able to establish and join organizations of their own choosing. Moreover, we recall that no organization of public servants should be deprived of the essential means for defending the occupational interests of its members and request the Government to ensure trade union pluralism. The Basic Comprehensive Penal Code should also be amended in order to avoid the criminalization of social protest.
7. Regarding the dissolution of public servants’ associations, we urge the Government to ensure that the provisions of Decree No. 193, which maintain engagement in political activities as grounds for dissolution, are not applied to associations of public servants whose purpose is to defend the economic and social interests of their members. Finally, we echo the request of the Committee of experts to obtain additional information on the case of the administrative dissolution of the National Federation of Education Workers.
8. We encourage the Government to make progress in the adoption of specific, effective and time-bound measures, in consultation with social partners, in order to bring the legislation into conformity with fundamental Convention 87.
9. The EU and its Member States remain committed to a joint constructive engagement with Ecuador.

Thank you Chair.

*North Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.