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A Government representative (Minister of Labour and Human Resources) stated that the Government of Ecuador had not avoided taking measures to give effect to the requirements of Convention No. 153. In the last six years, six different Ministers of Labour had succeeded one another, having no possibility in their short terms in office to develop any coherent labour policy and plans of medium and long term, nor present and effect changes in the labour legislation. The Committee of Experts had observed that sections 330 and 331 of the Labour Code, which gave certain flexibility for the determination of the hours of work and obligatory rest periods on weekends and holidays, could potentially lead to abuse on the part of the employers due to lack of legal clarity as to the exercise of those rights.

Nevertheless, section 47 of the Labour Code limited the working day to eight hours of work, and work on Sunday and Saturday afternoons was considered an exception, as defined in section 52(2) of the Labour Code, according to the specificity of the activities carried out, such as transport by road. The fact that road transport was the only means of delivery of the merchandise and resources did not imply that workers did not benefit from the minimum rest periods, substituting weekends worked for other days of the week. Pay for working on Saturday or Sunday was increased by 100 per cent in accordance with section 55(4), while section 56 stipulated that "a contract cannot fix a longer duration of work in a day than those established in the preceding section", and enforced by a sanction under section 626 of the Labour Code.

In the light of the above, there was no apparent violation that limited the minimum rights, whereas, read alone, sections 330 and 331 of the Labour Code could in fact obscure the clear provision defining the entitlement to the minimum rest periods. Without prejudice to this conclusion, there are general provisions in the labour law and the Constitution, that prevail over these questionable provisions, and they will be detailed and analysed in the Government's detailed report that would be requested in 2003.

The Government considers as a relevant priority the need to harmonize the legislation with the Convention. Ecuador's intention was to take seriously the international obligations established by the ILO, and for that purpose it requested the technical assistance of the Regional Office in drafting the regulations to give clear application to the provisions of the Convention mentioned by the Committee of Experts. It hoped that the results of the requested mission would be included in its next report to be provided by September of this year.

The Employer members stated that this Committee had not yet dealt with this Convention but that the comments by the Committee of Experts dated back to 1995. Referring to the observation of the Committee of Experts and the statement made by the Government representative, they pointed out that there was a discrepancy between the national law and the provisions of the Conventions, notwithstanding the interpretation of the national legislation made by the Government, which differed from that given by the Committee of Experts. Nevertheless, it should be stressed that regulations on working time were subject to constant changes and needed to be adapted to socio-economic realities. Convention No. 153 was 20 years old and had only been ratified by seven member States. While acknowledging the discrepancy between national law and the provisions of the Convention, they considered that the discussions should bear in mind that the Governing Body had classed this Convention among those that needed to be revised.

The Worker members emphasized the importance that was traditionally being accorded to the issue of working time within the ILO. For them, it was crucial to have a discussion on the law and practice concerning the road transport sector in Ecuador; the legislation of Ecuador was not yet being adapted to the requirements of Convention No. 153. As such, according to the Labour Code of 1997, employers could make contradictory decisions on the duration of working time, including on Sundays, Saturday afternoons as well as on public holidays. Respect of the principles contained in the Convention was all the more important when a country had a complex road network and an insufficient infrastructure. Moreover, the case of Ecuador reflected a serious health and safety at work situation, a topic that was at the heart of the integrated approach currently being discussed at this session of the Conference. Finally, this case was important to the extent that the race for competitiveness directly affected the working conditions in this sector, which also suffered from the absence of an efficient labour inspection service. In conclusion, the Worker members suggested that the offer for technical assistance by the Office should be renewed. They also requested that the Government bring, without delay, its legislation into conformity with the Convention, reinforce its labour inspection services in the road transport sector and finally reply to the comments that had been transmitted by a worker organization many years ago.

The Worker member of Ecuador stated that the biggest transport companies in the country were those that paid the lowest salaries to their drivers. In this sector, overtime was often not compensated. The roads in Ecuador and in the whole region were in a very poor condition. He requested the Government to carry out the labour reform, as promised by the Minister, and to do so in consultation with the social partners. Without prejudice to the labour reform, priority should be given to the application of Convention No. 153. Failing this, he suggested this case should be examined anew next year.

The Government representative stated that measures had been taken to repair the damage caused in 1998 by the climatic phenomenon called El Niño. There were in place labour inspection services and a legal framework, as well as the regional accords on transportation. However, it was not the Ministry of Labour which was responsible for these matters. He repeated that reforms were being pursued on the basis of tripartite dialogue. The Minister of Labour could suggest to the President of the Republic to submit the draft of the reform to the legislative authority, but could not do so directly himself. His Government was observing the law and enforced the provisions of the Labour Code including those on hours of work.

The Employers members agreed with the comments made by the Worker members and supported the common request that the national legislation should, as soon as possible, be brought into line with the Convention. They added that they had not made any reference to the practical relevance of the Convention but to the low number of ratifications and the fact that the Governing Body had acknowledged the need to revise this Convention.

The Worker members recalled that the law should be amended to bring it into conformity with the provisions of the Convention. The law was still in force and had to be applied in full and without restriction. Concerning the proposal for technical assistance, they noted that they had not received any response from the Government in this regard. They urged the Government to supply, before the next session of the Committee of Experts, the report requested with information on the developments in law and practice.

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Articles 5 to 9 of the Convention. Hours of work and rest. The Committee notes with regret that the Government merely refers in its report to the provisions of the Labour Code concerning conditions of work in public and private transport enterprises, the non-conformity of which with the Convention it has been emphasizing for 20 years. It also notes the new Organic Act on land transport, traffic and road safety, adopted on 24 July 2008, a copy of which has been attached by the Government to its report, but which does not contain any relevant provision regarding the implementation of the Convention. Finally, the Committee notes that the Government refers to the overall reform of the country’s legal system which is currently in progress, without, however, supplying any details regarding the possible preparation of a draft Act intended to bring the legislation into conformity with the Convention. It recalls that, at the June 2003 session of the International Labour Conference, the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards urged the Government to “adopt the necessary administrative and legal measures, in consultation with the interested representative organizations of workers and employers with a view to bringing the national legislation and practice into conformity with the requirements of the Convention”. The Committee can only reiterate this request once again. It trusts that the Government, 20 years after ratification of the Convention, will finally take all the necessary steps to implement its provisions and proceed with the necessary amendments to the Labour Code. It requests the Government to supply all relevant information on progress made in the application of the Convention.

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Further to its previous observations, the Committee notes with regret that no significant progress has been made up to now in the application of the Convention. Indeed, according to the Government’s indications in its report, sections 322-336 of the Labour Code, which are not in conformity with the principal provisions of the Convention, continue to regulate work in transport enterprises. The Government adds that a tripartite meeting will be organized to determine the government policies and legal provisions which would enable it to bring the law into conformity with the Convention. In this respect, it is the Committee’s understanding that the Government had prepared a draft Ministerial Order intended to give effect to the provisions of the Convention.

The Committee recalls that during the course of the 17 years which have elapsed since the ratification of the Convention, the Government has not brought national law and practice into conformity with the requirements of the Convention, despite the repeated comments made by the Committee of Experts, the conclusions adopted in June 2003 by the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards, and also the many technical assistance missions carried out by the Office. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of any development relating to the adoption of the draft Ministerial Order referred to above and the results of the tripartite meeting to which the Government refers in its report. It trusts that the Government will make every effort, if necessary with the technical assistance of the Office, to give full effect to the provisions of the Convention without further delay.

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The Committee notes the information provided with the Government’s report, including the reply to its previous comments. With reference to these comments and the discussion which took place in the Committee on the Application of Standards at the 91st Session of the International Labour Conference in 2003, it observes that technical assistance to bring national legislation on hours of work and rest periods in road transport into conformity with the Convention has been requested once again. While it notes that previously granted assistance had remained without substantial results, the Committee reiterates its hope that, with renewed assistance from the Office, the Government will undertake every effort to make progress in adapting its legislation to the Convention on the matters referred to in its previous observations. It requests the Government to provide information in this respect in its next report.

[The Government is requested to report in detail in 2005.]

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The Committee notes the information provided in the Government’s report. The Government again states that the necessary measures to give effect to the Convention have not yet been taken. It refers, in a general way, to binding decisions of the Community of Andean States on international affairs preventing member States from regulating the same subject separately for their own countries. The Committee notes that since the entry into force of the Convention for Ecuador in 1989, the Government has given various and changing explanations as to why the national legislation has not been adjusted to the requirements of the Convention. Despite repeated offers for technical assistance and two ILO missions discussing the issue with the Government, no progress has been made. The Committee repeats its proposal to make use of ILO technical assistance and once again urges the Government to ensure compliance of national law and practice in national and international road transport with the provisions of the Convention.

In this respect, the Committee notes that the Labour Code of 12 June 1997 contains special regulations on the working conditions in private and public transport enterprises (sections 322-336; and also sections 10, 311 and 313 of the Labour Code). These special provisions appear to exclude the application of the general provisions on working time and rest periods, laid down in sections 47-68 of the Labour Code, in so far as they regulate the same subject especially for transport workers and employees.

Referring, in particular, to sections 330 and 331 of the Labour Code, the Committee points out that in view of the precedence of these provisions over the general working-time provisions of the Labour Code, section 47, paragraph 1, providing for an eight-hour work day and section 50, paragraph 2, of the Code, according to which Saturdays and Sundays are legal weekly holidays, appear not to be applicable. Indeed, sections 330 and 331 explicitly render unnecessary any need of determining, in the employment contract, a maximum duration of work and leave it to the discretion of the employer to authorize, in certain circumstances, more than eight hours of work per day, including on Sundays, Saturday afternoons and public holidays. Moreover, section 331 of the Labour Code, which leaves the decision on hours of work entirely to the discretion of transport entrepreneurs, appears to permit the entrepreneur to evade the authorization procedure in respect of work on Saturday afternoons and Sundays, as laid down in section 52 of the Labour Code.

In this respect, the Committee once more refers to the communication of the Ecuadorian Central of Class Organizations (CEDOC), dating back to 1994, which points to problems of observance of rest periods in road transport, due to the absence of a control mechanism for working time, leaving it to the entrepreneur and the employed driver to have breaks according to distance driven or frequency of journeys. The Government is again invited to comment on these observations.

In view of the aforementioned points, the Committee cannot but maintain its view that the Labour Code in its current form does not ensure conformity with the main provisions of the Convention such as those on hours of work, compulsory breaks, maximum total driving time or daily rest. It hopes that the Government will, as a matter of urgency, undertake the necessary efforts to bring national law and practice into line with the provisions of the Convention.

[The Government is asked to supply full particulars to the Conference at its 91st Session and to report in detail in 2003.]

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The Committee notes the Government's report and the elements of information provided in reply to its previous comments. The Government states that it is currently giving priority to the reconstruction of the national road infrastructure destroyed during the climatic phenomenon El Niño. It has therefore deferred the adoption of the necessary measures to give effect to the provisions of the Convention until the completion of this reconstruction phase.

The Committee hopes that the Government will, once this phase of reconstruction is completed, be able to envisage the manner in which it can give effect to all the provisions of the Convention, and particularly the formulation of legislation on national and international land transport with the technical assistance that it has requested from the ILO. In these conditions, the Committee hopes that the Government will be able in the near future to provide the information that has been requested for many years on the manner in which the Convention is applied in both national law and practice.

The Committee also requests the Government to provide its comments at the same time, in so far as it considers it appropriate, in reply to the observations made by the Ecuadorean Central Organization of Class Organizations respecting the absence of mechanisms to monitor the application of the Convention.

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The Committee notes that the Government's report contains no reply to previous comments. It must therefore repeat its previous observation which read as follows:

The Committee notes the Government's report and its reply to the previous comments. It notes that the National Traffic and Land Transport Council, after a first analysis of the legal and technical aspects of the implementation of the Convention, has been asked to set up an inter-institutional committee with a specific short-term mandate. A study on the matter also recommends that the ILO technical assistance should be requested. The Committee hopes that the Government will shortly be able to establish the exact attributions of each sector of the administration in order to facilitate the application of the provisions of the Convention, so that it will then be in a position to provide the information requested on the laws and regulations that give effect to the provisions of the Convention, and on its application in practice, as required by the report form. The Committee also notes a communication sent by the Ecuadorian Central of Class Organizations, which alleges that there is a lack of any machinery to supervise the application of the Convention. It hopes that the next report will also contain comments which the Government might consider appropriate to make on this matter.

The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the very near future.

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The Committee notes that the Government's report has not been received. It must therefore repeat its previous observation which read as follows:

The Committee notes the Government's report and its reply to the previous comments. It notes that the National Traffic and Land Transport Council, after a first analysis of the legal and technical aspects of the implementation of the Convention, has been asked to set up an inter-institutional committee with a specific short-term mandate. A study on the matter also recommends that the ILO technical assistance should be requested. The Committee hopes that the Government will shortly be able to establish the exact attributions of each sector of the administration in order to facilitate the application of the provisions of the Convention, so that it will then be in a position to provide the information requested on the laws and regulations that give effect to the provisions of the Convention, and on its application in practice, as required by the report form. The Committee also notes a communication sent by the Ecuadorian Central of Class Organizations, which alleges that there is a lack of any machinery to supervise the application of the Convention. It hopes that the next report will also contain comments which the Government might consider appropriate to make on this matter.

The Committee notes that the possibility of the above-mentioned technical assistance has been examined by the Office and hopes it will take place in the near future.

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The Committee notes the Government's report and its reply to the previous comments. It notes that the National Traffic and Land Transport Council, after a first analysis of the legal and technical aspects of the implementation of the Convention, has been asked to set up an inter-institutional committee with a specific short-term mandate. A study on the matter also recommends that the ILO technical assistance should be requested.

The Committee hopes that the Government will shortly be able to establish the exact attributions of each sector of the administration in order to facilitate the application of the provisions of the Convention, so that it will then be in a position to provide the information requested on the laws and regulations that give effect to the provisions of the Convention, and on its application in practice, as required by the report form.

The Committee also notes a communication sent by the Ecuadorian Central of Class Organizations, which alleges that there is a lack of any machinery to supervise the application of the Convention. It hopes that the next report will also contain comments which the Government might consider appropriate to make on this matter.

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The Committee notes the Government's report containing answers to its previous comments. It notes that the National Traffic and Land Transport Council suggested, after a first analysis of the legal and technical aspects of implementation of the Convention, that an inter-institutional committee be set up with a specific short-term mandate. The above-mentioned Council also recommended that the Government should seek ILO technical assistance.

The Committee hopes that the Government will shortly be able to establish the exact attributions of each sector of the administration in order to facilitate the application of the provisions of the Convention, and that it will thus be in a position to provide the information requested previously on the laws and regulations giving effect to the provisions of the Convention, and on its application in practice, as required by the report form.

The Government is asked to report in detail for the period ending 30 June 1994.

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The Committee notes from the Government's report that the only measure apparently taken to ensure observance of the Convention was the distribution of its text to the national transport federations and the Federation of Professional Drivers of Ecuador, and requesting them to apply the Convention.

It also notes that the Ministry of Labour has no data available concerning the practical application of the Convention since this subject is in the competence of the National Transit and Land Transport Council. It further notes that, according to a communication from the Council, the latter did not have any details concerning the application of the Convention, which had to be exclusively observed by the transport entrepreneurs, who in turn were subject to the control of the Ministry of Labour. The Committee hopes that the Government will be able to establish clear competences among the various parts of the administration, so that they are in a position to make effective the provisions of the Convention and to furnish the required information. It further requests the Government to ensure that not only information concerning the practical application of the Convention but also the relevant national legislation is provided with its next report, as requested in the report form.

The Government is asked to report in detail for the period ending 30 June 1993.