A day after the basic wage cap that will apply from January 2024 was set, representatives of workers and employers arrived for a final meeting at the National Work and Wages Council this Friday morning 1 December.

The appointment is a continuation of the one established last Tuesday, and the two sides arrived with the same views: the workers are asking for an increase of $100 to make the basic wage equal to the cost of the vital basket and thus from $450 to $550. On the other hand, the production unions insist that the fixation to be technical and to be based on figures presented in the same Council which would determine the increase of $4.12.

The definition of the basic salary for 2024 is being extended

The president of the Ecuadorian Confederation of Free Trade Union Organizations (Ceosl), Marcela Arellano, as well as Mesías Tatamuez from Cedocuto confirmed the workers’ demand for a $100 wage increase. Employer representatives did not want to make statements at the beginning of the meeting.

If a consensus is not reached between employers and workers now, it will be in the hands of the Ministry of Labor to determine the value of the wage for 2024. Before the death cross that led to the election, an increase of $25 was planned as in the previous two years and at least that is the expectation of the labor sector: “If we weren’t like that, this Government would be worse than (Guillermo) Lasso, Lasso proposed and implemented while he was not in the Government. “Employers have prepared for that, to at least raise $25,” Arellano commented.

There will be no employee changes, the new Minister of Labor will not implement the ministerial agreements of the outgoing Government

Oswaldo Chica, representative of the Confederation of Public Sector Workers of Ecuador, explained that as workers, they will do everything to make the salary reach the vital basket. He commented that it is a misconception that the household receives 1.4 salaries. However, he said that, if an agreement is not reached, any increase will be a victory for the workers.

The basic salary had to be defined by November 30. In order for this new meeting to take place, it was indicated last Tuesday that Minister Ivonne Núñez – who took over this state portfolio and in the Council with the change of government – must modify the ministerial agreement which establishes that the basic salary should be defined by November 30 of each year. Arellano hinted at the time that Council meetings would be permanent.