There are still 18 days left for the government to define the basic salary for 2024, and there are concerns of companies and expectations of workers. Since no consensus was reached between the two parties, this definition was left to the Ministry of Labor, which announced that it would announce the price increase by December 22. The current base salary is $450.

At the last session of the National Council for Labor and Wages, on December 1, the remaining proposals were: workers for a raise of $100 in the amount of the vital basket. The employer sector proposed $4.12, but since they did not reach an agreement, they calculated that the Government should make a decision based on the inflation forecast for 2024, which implies an increase of $9.32.

Workers: If the basic salary is not raised by at least $25, “this government would be worse than Las, employers are ready for that”

This point of view is supported by the manufacturing sectors. The dairy sector through the Center of the Dairy Industry of Ecuador (CIL) supported the increase of $9.32. “We call on the National Council for Labor and Wages to conduct its management in accordance with legal and technical criteria that guarantee productivity, competitiveness and sustainability of jobs in various sectors”, they pointed out from the dairy sector, which assured that it employs more than 1 million people across the country.

In this context, the Chamber of Commerce of Guayaquil (CCG) stated that the economic situation of companies is affected by several additional costs that, if not respected, can affect the sustainability of current operations.

“A basic salary determined by political criteria could create an obstacle to access to formal work, harming seven out of ten Ecuadorians who do not have adequate employment,” analyzed the union.

“The increase must be carried out on the basis of Article 118 of the Labor Act”

The Chamber pointed out that after the failure to reach an agreement in the National Council for Labor and Wages, the solution is in the Law itself, in Article 118 of the Labor Law, which indicates that the Uniform Basic Wage (JPP) must be adjusted according to the inflation index.

Meanwhile, Tania Pazmiño, vice president of the Quito Chamber of Commerce (CCQ) and representative of the employer sector in the National Council for Work and Wages, also indicated that the SBU 2024 must be defined based on technical and not political criteria. “It must be aimed at creating formal employment, taking into account the more than 5 million Ecuadorians who currently do not have adequate employment.”

CCQ shows some considerations to argue for its view that the SBU increase is $9.32. One of them is that the country is facing a slowdown in growth, with only a projection of 0.8% for next year.

Who is not entitled to the thirteenth salary?

Furthermore, they confirm that salary increases without a technical basis in previous years did not contribute to the creation of new jobs. They add that although SPP has experienced an increase of 165% in the last fifteen years, adequate employment has decreased by 18%.

“There are no arguments for salary increases and non-acceptance of the associated technical formula, which is why we appeal to the state government to respect Article 118 of the Labor Law, which determines the fixation of wages in accordance with the predicted inflation in 2024, estimated at 2.07%, which corresponds to 9.32 USD.

The trade union also conducted a survey in which 48 percent of respondents agreed that the increase was 2.07 percent, which refers to the inflation predicted for 2024. The survey was published a day before the last session of the National Council for Work and Wages. .

In addition, the Chamber stated that 67% of businesses are concerned about wage increases higher than projected inflation and that 63% of businesses feel that a $25 wage increase, as in previous years, reduces your company’s ability to hire and retain employees.

‘A $4.12 increase would be a mockery’

Meanwhile, the labor sector rejects the employers’ arguments. Mesías Tatamuez, the workers’ representative, calculated that if the SBU were to increase by just $4.12, which was the company’s first proposal, the increase represented just 0.12 cents a day. “It looks like a mockery of all workers,” Tatamuez said in a radio interview.

The leader indicated that the Government must gradually strive to reach the vital basket of USD 552. The Ecuadorian Confederation of Unitary Class Organizations of Workers (Cedocut) issued a statement urging the Government to consider the workers’ proposal. to reach at least the value of the vital basket and the workers to watch closely the decision that will be made by the new regime.