Although the opinion that the annual vacation of workers in the private sector can last from 15 to 30 days arouses the interest of the working class, from a general analysis there are criteria that do not consider this appropriate. Labor unions and labor lawyers analyze this proposal, some believe it is very important to stimulate productive activity, improve the economy of the country to create a source of employment.

On April 18, the Commission for the Right to Work and Social Security of the National Assembly confirmed the report for the first debate on the Draft Labor Law, and one of the points states that “Every worker has the right to a continuous holiday of thirty days a year, including non-working days.”

Annual vacations for private workers could last from 15 to 30 days, according to the draft reform of the Labor Law that is being considered in the Parliament

Article 69 of the Labor Law currently establishes that “every worker has the right to enjoy fifteen days off per year, including non-working days.”

“It is not laws that create jobs, we have to improve the economy in the country. It is the economy that must employ, we must see how to improve production and improve production starting with agriculture…”, he affirms. Mesías Tatamuez, National President of the Ecuadorian Confederation of Unitary Class Organizations of Workers (Cedocut).

According to Tatamuez, three out of every ten Ecuadorians are employed, so there are five million unemployed in the country.

And the leader of the United Front of Workers points out that they are increasing annual leave to make it look like a benefit that employees in the public sector have. “Then they say why not the private sector, so let’s see that we are aware and consistent, I think that the Labor Act as a whole must first be adopted…”.

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For him labor lawyer Fabián Jaramillo, In the reform related to annual leave, two issues must be taken into account: the welfare of workers and the existence of sources of employment.

“Today we have a shortage of sources of employment. It was said that thousands of people have been employed in recent months, I think something has happened, but there are still half of Ecuadorians who do not have a job, and the lack of work is because there is no incentive for productive activity”, comment.

The lawyer points out that the idea of ​​increasing annual leave at this moment is not in line with facilitating the creation of jobs. “When all Ecuadorians can work, I believe that any formula that serves to improve the conditions of workers is sustainable, but at the moment the weakest part of the population is not the worker who has a job, but the one who does not have one. it seems to me that it is the wrong time in history to seek this kind of conquest”, he emphasizes.

Although public workers have 30 days of annual leave, Jaramillo says that the circumstances in this sector are different from those in the private sector and sooner the economic situation in the country would deteriorate and there would be more unemployed.

from his side Andrés Madero, former Minister of Labor and current Dean of the Faculty of Law and Administration of Ecotec Universitymaintains that all issues involving reforms in labor relations deserve special attention and require technical analysis, which will allow to demonstrate the correct application of changes in favor of labor peace.

As an example, he states that 30 days of annual leave is not only a direct benefit to workers, but will also affect employers’ budgets, which will increase costs and reduce profits.

In this sense, he believes that it is wise to use the National Labor Council, in which the Government, employers and workers are represented, and to reach the necessary consensus through the social dialogue of these three parties – technical, economic and legal – to avoid further deterioration of formal employment.

“The feasibility must be fully analyzed, taking into account the different branches of production, the production costs that will be affected and a number of factors that can be directly affected by a reform that does not have the necessary inputs and consensus that would justify its implementation “relevance”, he says.

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For him former Deputy Minister of Labor Tito Palma, Although there would be an increase in production costs, it would not be significant if the method of calculating holiday pay was changed, which would not include the comprehensive compensation items provided for in Art. 71 and 95 of the ZR, already one month of basic salary as in the public sector. “In short, the increase in rest compared to working days is ten days,” he says.

Therefore, for also an expert in labor law, the proposed annual leave reforms help to standardize the annual leave (annual leave) of workers in the public and private sectors. “It is positive for the worker because it reduces stress at work, the rate of accidents and absenteeism resulting from it. It supports internal tourism and family integration. This can be one of the measures that enables an increase in the number of jobs.

“The same questions that are asked for annual leave, are asked for the duration of daily (8 hours) or weekly (40) hours, which are being extended to more countries every day. The measure was and remains healthy, and now it has to be extended even on holidays”, he confirms.