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For many years, the Committee has been making comments referring to Decree No. 105 of 7 June 1967, under which penalties of imprisonment of from two to five years can be imposed on anyone who foments or takes a leading part in a collective works stoppage. The penalty laid down in the Decree for anyone who participates in such a stoppage, without formenting or taking a leading part in it, is correctional imprisonment of from three months to one year. For the purposes of this provision, there is a work stoppage when there is collective stoppage of work or the imposition of a lock out except in the cases allowed by the law, the paralysing of means of communication and similar antisocial acts. Prison sentences involve compulsory labour by virtue of sections 55 and 66 of the Penal Code.

The Committee also referred to section 65 of the Maritime Police Code, under which crew members of an Ecuadorian vessel may not apply to disembark in a port other than the port of embarkation, except with the agreement of the master. It also provides that if a crew member deserts, he shall forfeit his pay and belongings to the vessel and that if he is captured he shall pay the cost of his arrest and be punished in accordance with the naval regulations in force.

The Committee noted that several draft decrees had been prepared with the assistance of representatives of the Director General of the ILO in 1989, under which Legislative Decree No. 105 would be interpreted as being inapplicable to strikes or collective labour disputes; section 165 of the Maritime Police Code would be repealed, and section 22 of the Code on the Application of Sentences and Social Rehabilitation must be interpreted in the sense that the work of convicted persons in detention and re-education centres would have to be voluntary. In 1991, the Committee noted that the Minister of Labour and Human Resources submitted the above-mentioned draft texts to the President of the National Congress with a view to their inclusion on the agenda of the Congress. Subsequently (in 1992 and 1995) the Committee noted that the drafts had not been adopted and stressed that the Government should take the necessary measures to align national legislation with the Convention.

The Committee has taken note of the report of the ILO technical assistance mission which visited Ecuador from 4 to 10 September 1997, and of the preliminary draft bill amending the Labour Code prepared during the mission, of which the final section provides for repeal of Decree No. 105.

The Committee notes that the Government's report, received on 6 November 1997, contains no reference to this preliminary draft bill. It also notes that the report contains no information on the situation in regard to section 65 of the Maritime Police Code.

The Committee hopes that the Government will take the necessary measures without delay to ensure application of Article 1(c) and (d) of the Convention.