Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Ecuador

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) (Ratification: 1957)
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) (Ratification: 1962)

In order to provide a comprehensive view of the issues relating to the application of ratified Conventions on equality, the Committee considers it appropriate to examine Conventions Nos 100 (equal remuneration) and 111 (discrimination in employment and occupation) together.

The Committee notes the observations of Public Services International (PSI) in Ecuador and the United Front of Workers (FUT), received on 2 September 2025, and the Government’s reply.

Convention No. 111 – National policy for the promotion of equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation

Article 1, 2 and 3 (b). Prohibited grounds of discrimination. Legislation. The Committee notes the Government’s indication, in its report, that the constitutional framework guarantees non-discrimination, and that various labour laws have been adopted in this regard, including the “Basic Act Amending Various Laws in respect of Age Discrimination in the Labour System of 2025”. In this regard, the Committee notes that the Labour Code and the Basic Public Service Act address discrimination in various aspects of employment and occupation in several provisions, which explicitly recognize various grounds of discrimination, although none of them appear to be exhaustive or to exclude other possible grounds of discrimination. The Committee also notes that Ministerial Decisions Nos MDT-2025-102 (private sector) and MDT-2025-093 (public sector) prohibit discrimination on the grounds set out in Article 11.2 of the Constitution in all aspects of employment and occupation, covering: (1) explicitly discrimination on grounds of sex, religion, political affiliation and ideology (which would include political opinion) and physical differences (which would include colour); and (2) other grounds, such as ethnic origin, place of birth, age, gender identity, cultural identity, marital status, language, criminal record, socio-economic situation, migratory status, sexual orientation, state of health, HIV infection and disability, as well as any other distinction. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application in practice of the various legislative provisions, and in particular to indicate whether: (i) the term “socio-economic situation” covers discrimination on grounds of “social origin”; and (ii) and the terms “place of birth” and “migratory status” cover discrimination on grounds of “national extraction”.

Discrimination on the basis of sex. Sexual harassment. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that: (1) the General Regulations of the “Basic Act to Promote the Purple Economy”, adopted in 2023, define sexual harassment as “any act, whether occasional or repeated, which is intended to, or may affect the sexual integrity of a worker, public official, or any other person related to the world of work”, and recognize that it can occur during working hours or be related to work, by physical or digital means, and be vertically ascending or descending, or horizontal (the definition is also reproduced in the “Model internal protocol for the prevention and eradication of discrimination, violence and harassment at work”, published by the Ministry of Labour); and (2) section 12 of the “Comprehensive Basic Act to Prevent and Eradicate Violence Against Women” includes among the forms of violence at work against women making recruitment or retention at work conditional on favours of a sexual nature. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application in practice of the “Basic Act to Promote the Purple Economy”, and particularly on whether it clearly covers quid pro quo – i.e. blackmail and hostile work environment sexual harassment committed against men and women.

Convention No. 100 – Principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value

Articles 1 and 2. The principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. Definition of “work of equal value”. The Committee notes with interest the Government’s indication concerning the adoption of the “Basic Act on Equal Wages for Women and Men” in 2024, which sets out the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for the performance of the same work or work of equal value in the public and private sectors (section 1). The Committee notes that, in accordance with the Act, work is considered to be of “equal value” “where the nature of the functions or tasks assigned, the occupational conditions or training required for its performance, factors strictly related to its performance and the working conditions in which such activities are carried out are equivalent” and that, to determine the “value”, the criteria of skills and qualifications, working conditions, effort and responsibility shall be taken into consideration (section 3). The Committee also notes that section 79 of the Labour Code, as amended in 2023, contains similar provisions. The Committee refers in this respect to the ILO publication “Equal pay: An introductory guide”. The Committee welcomes the legislative progress made by the Government and requests it to confirm that section 3 of the “Basic Act on Equal Wages for Women and Men” provides for the comparison of jobs that are of a completely different nature. It requests the Government to provide information on any promotional and awareness-raising measures that have been taken on the content of the Basic Act.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.