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Article 1(b) of the Convention. Equal remuneration for work of equal value. In its previous comments, the Committee drew the Government’s attention to the fact that section 79 of the Labour Code is expressed in terms which are narrower than the principle of “equal remuneration for work of equal value” laid down in the Convention, and expressed the hope that the Government would take the necessary steps to bring section 79 into line with the Convention. The Committee notes the Government’s statement to the effect that it will supply information on the results of the Constituent Assembly which will reform the principles of the Constitution and in which there will be representatives of the bodies defending the wage rights of women workers. The Committee notes that on 13 May 2008 the Constituent Assembly adopted a series of provisions, including article 3(d), which provides for equal remuneration for work of equal value, without any form of discrimination. The Committee welcomes this provision, as it gives expression to the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value. It asks the Government to supply information on its final adoption, as well as on the amendment of section 79 of the Labour Code, which the Committee has been asking the Government to bring into line with the Convention for a number of years.

Article 2. Promotion of the principle. The Committee notes that the Equal Opportunities Plan for 2005–09 has two main components: (1) including the majority of women’s organizations in the process of defining priorities; (2) formulating the Plan on the basis of a system of rights which enable the limitations of the sectoral approach to be overcome. The Committee asks the Government to supply information on the steps taken or contemplated within the Equal Opportunities Plan to promote the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value, and on the results achieved.

Gender, Youth and Ethnic Minorities Unit. The Committee notes various capacity-building activities, such as the publication of a “Labour vademecum with a gender perspective” and the holding of workshops with the ILO in Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca, relating to gender, race, poverty and employment. It also notes with interest the “Women’s Programme for Indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorian Female Workers (PROINDAFRO)”, which aims to provide self-employment for indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorian women on a low income, who do not formalize their work activities for a variety of reasons but who have the potential to do so. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue supplying information on the activities of this unit, stating in particular the way in which publications, courses and programmes incorporate the principle of the Convention. It also asks the Government to state whether and to what extent PROINDAFRO has succeeded in increasing the income of women covered by this programme.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. The Committee notes the Government’s statement to the effect that an inter-institutional agreement is to be established with institutions involved in wage matters with a view to updating occupational structures in line with the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) and to maintain standardized codification. The Committee hopes that this will be undertaken on the basis of specific jobs, which will enable a comparison of “work that is of an entirely different nature, which is nevertheless of equal value”, as stated by the Committee in its general observation of 2006. The Committee asks the Government to supply information on the updating of the abovementioned occupational structures. Please also provide information on whether, in the context of the inter-institutional cooperation agreement between the National Secretariat for Public Sector Pay, the National Council for Women, the Latin American Institute of Social Investigations and Public Services International in Ecuador, which was noted by the Committee in its observation on the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), activities have been undertaken or planned with regard to objective job evaluation or to other aspects related to the Convention.

Labour inspection and preventive activities. The Committee notes the holding of various workshops on gender and labour inspection in Quito, Cuenca and Guayquil in 2006. It also notes that, according to the Government, inspections of officials responsible for wages in enterprises are to be promoted with a view to having effective control over the payment of the additional benefits and profits provided for in the Labour Code. The Committee asks the Government to indicate the manner in which the principle of the Convention is included in the workshops on gender issues for labour inspectors, and whether the abovementioned inspections on the monitoring of additional benefits and profits have been undertaken. Please also supply information on the results of such monitoring, disaggregated by sex.