There would already be a date when workers and employers could begin the analysis to determine the single basic wage (SBU) that will apply in 2024, after this Wednesday, October 25, the Ministry of Labor indicated to this newspaper that the National Council for Work and Wages ( CNTS) would meet in the first days of November to define the increase.

These days, this issue has captured the attention of employers and employees, whose representatives will try to reach an agreement on determining the salary, but with conflicting views. The business sector even indicated that, if there is no consensus between the parties, the new government of Daniel Noboa, and not that of Guillermo Lasso, will try to set the new value, as the Ecuadorian Business Committee announced this Wednesday.

If there is no agreement on the salary for 2024, let the government of Daniel Noboa, not Guillermo Lass, determine it, the Ecuadorian Business Committee demands

According to the Labor Law, if the employer and the workers do not reach an agreement on determining the amount of the basic salary, the definition will be in the hands of the Ministry of Labor, which must be based on the projection of annual inflation for the following year.

The latest data from the National Institute of Statistics and Population Censuses (INEC) shows that monthly inflation in September last year was 0.04%, which compares with inflation in August this year. On the other hand, the annual inflation compared to September 2022 was 2.23 percent, while the accumulated inflation calculated with that of December of the previous year was 1.96 percent.

Employers want the definition of the new wage to be done according to technical parameters, just like the inflation variable, and not in a political way, referring to the outgoing government’s pre-election promise to increase the wage by $25 a year. until it reaches a total increase of $100 by the end of its term, that is, with the salary set at $500 by 2025, although it would only reach $475 in 2024 due to the death of the cross.

The businessman’s request is gaining strength after the government minister Henry Cucalón announced last week that if an agreement is not reached between the representatives of the workers and employers, who make up the CNTS, the government will leave a defined SBU on departure, which would be $475.

The workers are asking for an SBU increase of 22.22% in 2024

However, the worker’s request is for the SBU to be equal to the cost of the vital basket of $550, and in order to reach that value, they will ask for an increase of 22.22% to bring the SBU to $549.99, i.e. with an increase of $99.99, which will be a proposal presented by the United Workers’ Front (FUT). The union argued for this increase that the prices of products and services have increased significantly, while wages have been static for some time, and the increases affected only a small group of workers who do not reach the wage level.

On the other hand, according to FUT, the companies would see an 18% growth and record sales reaching $99 billion. Therefore, this growth and company profits, also thanks to the efforts of the workers, must be rewarded with a significant increase in wages that compensates for this effort.

“In this context, the proposal to increase the SBU, proposed by the FUT, is 22.22%, which will allow the beginning of the recovery of purchasing power as a starting point and reaching the family basket in the following years as stated in the Constitution. in its twenty-fifth provision which states: The annual revision of the basic salary shall be carried out gradually until the subsistence minimum is reached. The basic salary will try to be equal to the cost of the family basket”, FUT points out.

In 2022, the wage increase was $25 and went from $400 to $425, the same as in 2023, which the SBU set at $450.

The Chamber of Commerce of Quito invites representatives of workers and employers to determine the basic salary technically

Meanwhile, for Mesías Tatamuez, president of the Ecuadorian confederation of Unitary Class Workers’ Organizations (Cedocut), it is not important that the government must raise the SBU, but he indicated that President Lasso must accept what is offered.

“For us, it doesn’t matter who raises the salary, whether it’s (Daniel) Noboa or Guillermo Lasso. What Mr. Lasso has to do is fulfill what he offered, $25 every year,” said Tatamuez, who added that the electoral authorities should now announce the date of the inauguration of the new president.

The leader reiterated that the Ministry of Labor should not wait until November to convene a meeting to find out how the various sectors are doing.

They are representatives of employers and workers in HTZ

New representatives, four regular and four substitutes for each sector, employer and worker, were elected last Tuesday, September 26. These are:

By sector of employers there are:

Its substitutes are:

For the labor sector there are:

Its substitutes are: