The Labor Day marches were an arena for other major issues in each city where unions, employee groups and civic organizations took to the streets to present their demands. Insecurity, lack of medicine and rejection of changes in the Ecuadorian Social Security Institute (IESS) affecting its branches were among the slogans of these protests.

In Guayaquil, with drums, cymbals and trumpets, a march led by the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT) began, which started from Eloy Alfaro and General Gómez avenues to 9 de Octubre avenue at the top of San Francisco.

Insecurity and the lack of employment and labor policies were the central issues of the International Labor Day march in Quito

Various trade union groups participated, among them the CNEL Association, the Pensioners and Veterans Association, the Unified National Union of IESS Workers, the Ecuadorian Plastic Workers Union, the Municipal Workers of Guayaquil and the Petroecuador Workers Committee.

The IESS workers’ union expressed its disagreement with the possibility of increasing the length of service for retirement and also opposes any privatization of social security.

The unique national union of workers IESS, present in the workers’ day march led by CUT

Richard Gómez, president of CUT, said that two years ago we took to the streets to demand humanitarian law, which was not humanitarian at all, they fired people, persecuted colleagues, put an end to trade unions, however, the Constitutional Court was not the peak of circumstances”.

Gómez is a member of the IESS workers and he stated that he will bring a public policy to the board of directors: the hospital manager who does not cover 90% of the supply of drugs and supplies must go home, here must be the best people in hospitals who guarantee efficiency in the provision of public services and who improve the quality of life of the insured, he emphasized in one of his interventions during the march in Guayaquil.

During the CUT tour, Malecón Avenue was cordoned off by members of the National Police, which completely isolated the City Palace as well as the Office of the Governor of Guayas, but this was not an obstacle to stop the march.

José Arellano, a CUT protester, managed to speak with Zone 8 commander William Villarroel, informing him of his request: “We want to protest freely in the streets of our city, we are workers from different institutions, public and private,” he said.

March in Cuenca argued for work and health

On the other hand, Jinpson Martínez, Secretary General of the Workers’ Committee of Petroecuador (Cetrapep), indicated that “in oil policy, the country lacks a lot, seven managers have been in the management of the agency and so far no one has come up with an action plan that tells the president how it will be his action plan regarding the oil policy of this country”.

Pensioners do not agree with the increase in the retirement age. John Ladines commented that “someone burned their eyelashes like a teacher, a lawyer, working day and night and wanting to do it is not possible.”

Jaime Rivas is also an elderly person who has been in the area, but said that he does not participate in these marches because if they do attend, it is unlikely that they will take action according to the people’s demands.

The closing of the CUT took place in the square in San Francisco with a speech by the representatives in which they demanded the improvement of the working conditions of all Ecuadorians.