Representatives of workers, employers and the Government met on the afternoon of Thursday November 9 in Quito to begin the analysis of the amount single basic salary (SBU) who will rule in 2024 It is currently $450.

Since it is union, the proposal is a $100 increase, that is, the salary is 550 dollars.. Na business unionsfor now They did not make the number public that he will propose; However, they called for a technical dialogue so that the determination of wages would be within the legal framework.

Thursday’s meeting was the first of three sessions National Labor and Wages Councilwhich took place in the Ministry of Labor (MDT).

They were announced there macroeconomic forecasts next year, which will serve as technical input for salary analysis.

In this sense, according to the information transmitted by MDT, the representative of the Central Bank of Ecuador (BCE), Eduardo Cabezas, presented the projections the economy is growing for 2023 and 2024.

In the first case, the assessment is close in 2023 with growth of 1.5% gross domestic product (GDP). While until 2024 lower growth is expected, only 0.8 percent.

Another relevant indicator presented is the projection of the consumer price index (CPI), which measures inflation.

Daniel Falconí, representative of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, explained that average annual inflation by 2023 it would reach 2.56% and by 2024, it would amount to 2.07%. The official pointed out that the country maintains low levels of inflation compared to other countries in the region.

Diana Barco, an official of the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC), indicated that annual inflation for the month of October this year was 1.93%, influenced by annual variations in food, health and rental prices.

He also pointed out that last October the basic family basket was $748.42 for a typical household of four with 1.6 earners.

After the two-hour meeting, the union and union leaders made statements to the press. They agreed that The salary issue should be resolved at the end of Novemberbefore the end of the government of Guillermo Lasso; In addition, they believed that the National Council for Labor and Wages should determine the labor policy.

Marcela Arellano, president of the Ecuadorian Confederation of Free Trade Union Organizations (Ceols), expressed that the presentations by government officials reflected that “The country is bankrupt.”

“We are in a very difficult situation. Those who take full responsibility for the crisis are the workers,” commented Arellano.

According to the leader, the basic salary should not be determined solely by taking into account the projection of inflation for the next year, but the amount of the salary must reach the price of the basic basket known.

“Wage determination is an element of a political nature and has to do with the revaluation of labor in Ecuador. We earn less than the basic basket costs,” said the president of Ceols, adding that the increase in wages will also increase consumption.

For Mesías Tatamuez, the head of Cedocut, the arguments of some sectors that claim that an increase in the basic salary would cause layoffs are false. “That’s an argument from fifty years ago,” he criticized and confirmed that all unions agree that the wage increase should be $100.

Additionally, the workers propose that the Labor and Wages Council meet four to five times during the year, not just in the last few months.

Representatives of the chambers of commerce warned that the economic situation in the country is delicatewhich is why they insisted on a technical and constructive dialogue.

“The country is going through a deterioration in economic conditions, which affects most production chains and, of course, this translates into problem in employment“, explained Xavier Rosero, from the Ecuadorian Federation of Exporters (Fedexpor).

Rosero said that the rationalization of electricity, the paralysis of ITT’s oil exploitation, the loss of export competitiveness and the progressive loss of the cost structure that companies are facing make the projection for next year difficult, “bringing us closer economic stagnation but to growth.”

In these conditions, “representatives of the employer sector It is worrying to talk about salary increases“, commented Rosero.

To this end, Francisco Chiriboga, from the National Federation of Agricultural Chambers of Ecuador, asked the government of Guillermo Lasso “not to go ahead or give advance payments of what can be achieved with an increase or not an increase in the basic salary, it is very important to respect institutionalitylegality and technical aspect.”

What Chiriboga said corresponds to the fact that Lasso’s pre-election offer was that he would increase the salary by $100 in his government. In the two years he has been in power, since there was no agreement in the Workers’ Council, The executive branch imposed two increases of $25 each year.

Therefore, it is assumed that if again there is no consensus between employers and workers, the Department of Labor could recoup $25.

There is still no date for the second session of the Council, where the parties will formally present their proposals and arguments.

According to the Labor Law, if no agreement is reached in the Council, the Ministry of Labor determines the value as a percentage increased by the expected consumer price index.