Ecuador - Repository of Actions on Paid Domestic Work

Yes.    

Organic Law for Labor Justice and Recognition of Domestic Work (2015). Consult here.  

Labor Code (Article 268; Article 42; Article 44). Consult here.  

Workers:  

The Ministry of Labor through the Directorate of Employment and Labor Reconversion, seeks to provide tools to women so that they can improve their soft skills, or their ability to generate economic income, this through the “Strengthen Employment” and “Emprende EC” strategies, which contemplate a group of virtual e-learning workshops from this State portfolio, training a total of 9,616 women, however, it is not specified if they are paid domestic workers.  

Through the Public Employment Service from January 2022 to February 2023, a total of 88 paid domestic workers have been placed under a dependency relationship.  

Employers:  

The Ministry does not appear to have training for employers of paid domestic workers at this time.  

Through the Directorate of Attention to Priority Groups, the Ministry of labor, 836 awareness workshops on labor rights, equity, equality and care have been provided to workers including paid domestic workers, aimed at public servants, employers and civil society organization, with 34,533 beneficiaries during 2022.  

In March 2022, an information campaign on the rights of paid domestic workers was launched, aimed specifically at people who perform paid domestic work, employers and citizens in general. Consult here.  

The Ministry of Labor, through the Labor Inspectorates, has the power to verify compliance with labor rights and obligations. In 2022, requests for inspections by “Domestic Service” responded to complaints for alleged violations of rights, thus guaranteeing that care and compliance with the law matters. This State portfolio is designing a national inspection plan that not only responds to complaints from users, but also plans to carry out inspections for different economic sectors and work activities, including paid domestic work, to expand control coverage.  

Article 32 and 44 of the Labor Code, on the powers of labor inspections, which includes inspections to ensure the rights of paid domestic workers.  

It is pertinent to point out that one of the obligations of every employer is to affiliate their workers or servants to social security, an obligation that is verified by the Ministry of Labor, if not fulfilled, the corresponding sanction is applied.  

It is the Ecuadorian Institute of Social Security that has direct and total competence in matters of coverage and social security, highlighting the following aspects on this subject: “Unpaid domestic workers who wish to join can do so through the page www.iess.gob.ec, having at hand their citizenship card and that of the people that make up their family, as well as a copy of the electricity bill for their home. To make this right established in the Constitution effective, the national Government has provided a personal contribution based on the family’s economic situation and the Central State will complete the contribution with up to 80% of the total value for families that are in extreme poverty…People who join this modality will receive their old age pension, after 20 years of contribution and upon reaching 65 years of age. This benefit seeks that all people who have dedicated their lives to unpaid domestic work have their own income in their old age…”.   

In 2016, the Ministry of Labor signed Ministerial Agreement 142 for the creation of the Single National Union of Paid Domestic Workers (SINUTRHE). Consult here.  

Also, the Ministry has had a relationship with the National Union of Domestic and Related Workers (UNTHA) during rights campaigns. Consult here. 

Additionally, in compliance with national and international regulations, on November 20, 2019, the National Council for Gender Equality, the Ministry of Labor, the National Union of Domestic and Related Workers, the Ecuadorian Confederation of Free Trade Union Organizations, the Simón Bolívar Andean University, the International Confederation-CARE Ecuador, and the United Nations Organization to Promote Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women-UN Women, signed a Commitment Letter whose objective was to: “Formalize the Inter-institutional Roundtable to support the Rights of Paid Domestic Workers as a space for articulation to promote advocacy in the application of international agreements and national mandates on labor and human rights of paid domestic workers (TRH) that will contribute to institutional strengthening”, with a term of two years.

This space for articulation and dialogue made it possible to expose the violations of the rights of paid domestic workers, their right to unionize and the guaranteed of safety and health at work, as well as their expectations in different areas, especially in relation to their right to a suitable job. 

Along the same lines, the Part-time and Full-time Domestic Work Contract Models have been analyzed, according to the guidelines of Convention No. 189 of the International Labor Organization (ILO) on domestic workers, which is available for download through the website of the Ministry of Labor, https://www.trabajo.gob.ec/, receiving the observations and suggestions of the members of the Single National Union of Domestic Workers of Ecuador, however, there are aspects that are still pending to be incorporated, which constitutes a challenge for Ecuador, especially having a physical contract in which the activities that must be carried out to eliminate any type of labor exploitation are determined, as well as establishing effective and amicable complaint channels for the Paid Domestic Workers.