Demande directe (CEACR) - adoptée 2009, publiée 99ème session CIT (2010)

Part II of the Convention (Engagement and recruitment and migrant workers), Articles 5–19. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that professional recruiting is done by public or private placement agencies only where these are so authorized. It notes that the Government provides no new information on the number of agencies approved and the number of persons recruited by them. It accordingly asks the Government to provide more detailed information on this matter and on the recruitment of migrant workers in instances outside the competence of placement agencies. Furthermore, the Committee again asks the Government to send information on the engagement and recruitment of migrant workers, both national and foreign, and to specify the number of labour migrants, their working conditions and the types of plantation on which they work. The Committee further asks the Government to refer to its comment of 2009 under the Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97).

Part IV (Wages), Articles 24–35. The Committee takes note of Decree No. 00189 of 27 December 2007 fixing the minimum wage for agricultural workers at US$200 per month. It notes that the Government provides no information on the number of plantation workers to whom this rate applies. It accordingly asks the Government once again to provide information on this matter and on the impact of the current minimum wage on the purchasing power of plantation workers in terms of a basic basket of goods. It refers in this connection to its observation under the Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131), in which it asks the Government to take all necessary steps to ensure the application of adequate minimum wage rates to enable workers to meet their essential needs and those of their families. It also refers the Government to its comments of 2007 under the Protection of Wages Convention, 1949 (No. 95). It would be grateful if the Government would provide detailed information on the number of inspections carried out in the plantations sector and the results obtained in terms of payment of minimum wages.

Part V (Annual holidays with pay), Articles 36–42. The Committee notes the Government’s reference to sections 69–78 of the Labour Code codified in 2005 (Codification of the Labour Code 2005-017). The Committee notes, as it did previously in its comments of 2009 under the Holidays with Pay (Agriculture) Convention, 1952 (No. 101), that section 74 of the Labour Code allows the employer, in specific cases, to deny a worker holiday for one year, whereas under section 75 workers may postpone their holidays for three years running and take them all together in the fourth year. The Committee again points out that according to the provisions of the Convention, plantation workers must be granted an annual holiday with pay (Article 36) the minimum duration of which must be determined by national laws or regulations, collective agreement or arbitration award, or in any other manner approved by the competent authority (Article 38), and that any agreement to relinquish the right to an annual holiday with pay or to forego such a holiday shall be void (Article 41). The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged in order to bring its legislation into line with the provisions of the Convention on this point.

Part VII (Maternity protection), Articles 46–50. Further to its previous comments, the Committee requests the Government to refer to the comments made in 2009 under the Maternity Protection Convention (Revised), 1952 (No. 103), particularly as regards the right to breaks for breastfeeding. It hopes that the Government will take all necessary steps to insert into the Labour Code a provision establishing expressly that where the confinement takes place after the presumed date, the leave taken before the presumed date shall be extended until the actual date of the confinement, and that the period of compulsory postnatal leave shall not be reduced on that account, in accordance with Article 47(5) of the Convention.

Parts IX and X (Right to organise and collective bargaining. Freedom of association), Articles 54–70. The Committee understands that the conditions for carrying out trade union activities in banana plantations are extremely hard and account for the very low unionization rate. It would appear that in 2007 only seven of the 6,000 banana plantations existing in the country had a trade union. The Committee requests the Government to refer to its comments under the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

Part XI (Labour inspection), Articles 71–84. The Committee notes the Government’s reference to the Ecuadorian Agricultural Health Service (Servicio Ecuatoriano de Sanidad Agropecuaria – SESA) and to the Ministry of Agriculture’s inspectors. It notes that apart from this reference, the Government provides no specific information about inspections in plantations. It reminds the Government that, according to Article 81 of the Convention, workplaces must be inspected as often and as thoroughly as is necessary to ensure the effective application of the relevant legal provisions, and that the Government must require inspectors to submit periodical reports on the results of their work at least once a year (Article 84). The Committee again asks the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that the inspection services actively enforce labour standards in plantations. It also asks the Government to send statistics of inspections in plantations showing infringements of labour provisions reported (especially in areas such as hours of work, wages, safety and health, maternity and the employment of minors), and the sanctions imposed. The Committee furthermore asks the Government to refer to the comments made in 2009 under the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81).

Part XII (Housing), Articles 85–88. The Committee notes that the Government has sent no new information on this matter. It requests the Government once again to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to encourage the provision of adequate housing accommodation for plantation workers and to provide information on the results of any consultations held in this connection with the employers’ and workers’ organizations. It also asks the Government to indicate whether minimum standards and specifications have been laid down in respect of accommodation for plantation workers.

Part XIII (Medical care), Articles 89–91. The Committee notes that the Government has provided no new information on this matter. It also notes that, according to various sources, for workers in banana plantations pesticide exposure is high owing to aerial spraying. Accordingly, the Committee once again asks the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to encourage the provision of appropriate medical services for plantation workers and their families. It also asks the Government to state whether there are any provisions on medical services for plantation workers and their families, particularly in the light of the information indicating serious health problems among workers on banana plantations due to exposure to pesticides and other chemicals.

Part V of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee notes that according to various sources of information, working conditions in plantations have not improved and serious problems persist, particularly in the area of freedom of association, child labour, payment of wages, the exposure of agricultural workers to toxic substances and the lack of any effective oversight of plantations on the part of the inspection services. It notes that the Government provides no information in reply to its previous comments, in which the Committee already raised these questions about real working conditions in plantations. The Committee accordingly repeats its request to the Government for detailed information on the social and economic conditions in the plantations and the measures taken or envisaged to improve them. It also asks the Government to provide: (i) extracts of reports of the inspection services indicating the number of inspections carried out in the sector and the results obtained; (ii) statistics on the number of establishments and workers covered by the Convention; (iii) copies of collective agreements applying in the sector; (iv) information on the number of workers’ and employers’ organizations in the sector and the proportion of unionized workers in banana plantations. Lastly, the Committee requests the Government to provide further information showing the importance of the plantation sector for the national economy, for example in terms of gross domestic product, exports or employment, and any other information allowing an assessment of the living and working conditions on plantations.