Cuenca needs updated UN heritage site regulations, expert says; Law requires equal pay for women; Influenza and Covid vaccines recommended

Viernes, 1/12/2023

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –

Chordeleg: 3 años de ser “Pueblo Mágico” (Chordeleg: 3 years of being a “Pueblo Mágico”) – The canton of Chordeleg <filagree jewelry, ladies> is celebrating its 3d anniversary as a “Pueblo Mágico de Ecuador.” The activities started today (viernes) and will end el domingo. El sábado, the crafts fair in the plaza “José María Vargas” will open a las 9:00. The book, “Chordeleg, una joya natural” (Chordeleg, a natural jewel) will be presented a las 10:00. In the same plaza, there will be the lighting of Christmas lights and a musical show a las 20:00. The events will end with a coches de madera (wooden car – go-carts) race el domingo a las 9:00 in the Musmus sector.

It’s time for Cuenca to update its architectural regulations to meet Unesco World Heritage Site requirements, an expert recommends. The city received the United Nations designation 24 years ago.

De El Mercurio del jueves, 30/11 (1 article) –
Concierto en Saladentro – Cellist Dixon Israel Delgado will perform a concert el 13/12 a las 19:00 in the “Saladentro” gallery (Paseo 3 de Noviembre 4-78 y Bajada de Todos Santos. Make reservations by calling 098 995 60920. <I know there’s an extra number in there, but that’s on you to guess which one it is. I’m not going to call all the possibilities to find out for you.> Cost: $15 which includes a glass of wine.

Titular –

Patrimonio requiere de ordenanza actualizada (Heritage needs updated ordinance) – It has been 24 years since the Centro Histórico of Cuenca was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco for the beauty of its architecture. Monica López, a conservation expert for monuments and sites, said it brought a new look at the city. Once part of the city was declared as patrimonial, Cuencanos were not very clear about the magnitude of the title or the responsibility that came with such a designation. However, as the years passed, the large majority of the owners understood the historic and economic importance keeping these homes active.

There were large investments made, but on the other side, there was demolition and abandonment due to the high cost of maintenance. The current administration has resumed the implementation of the Plan de Manejo del Centro Histórico (Historic Center Management Plan), which allows for a clearer and updated ordinance. It is hoped both plan and ordinance will be ready by the middle of next year.

Cuenca –

Vacuna contra la influenza y COVID (Influenza and COVID vaccine) – Medical units of the Ministerio de Salud are promoting vaccinations against viruses that affect the respiratory tract. The “Vicente Corral Moscoso” hospital has a location for free flu and COVID vaccinations. Health Ministry data shows that there is usually an increase in cases between noviembre y marzo.

Concienciar cuidado del suelo, eje de encuentro (Raising awareness about soil care, focal point of meeting) – The “Fiesta del Suelo. El suelo y agua, fuente de vida” (Soil Festival. Soil and water, source of life) will be on the Día Mundial del Suelo, martes, 5/12 a las 9:00 in the Centro de Investigación, Innovación y Transferencia de Tecnología (CIITT) at the Universidad Católica de Cuenca. There will be specialists and researchers at this meeting who will offer master conferences about crops, soil use, conservation, mitigation and other topics. The Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas y Censos (INEC) show the largest area of use of soil in Ecuador are for forests and woodlands with 49.1% of the total. This is followed by cultivated pastures with 19.0%, and permanent crops with 11.2%. The area of agricultural work is around 5.2 million hectares. In 2022, the area of harvested banana was 167,544 hectares.

Alerta por fármaco (Drug Alert) – <The Narcotics Unit of the National Police will be giving away free marijuana from large drug seizures to any gringo who wants some. And I also have a bridge to sell you.> The Agencia Nacional de Regulación, Control y Vigilancia Sanitaria (ARCSA) announced that it received a notification from MERCK C.A. about suspected illegal marketing of “Astonin 0.1mg Fludrocortisona,” Lot number 319822A in Ecuador. According to ARCSA, the provenance, handling, and storage conditions of this product is unknown.

Nacional –

De El Mercurio del jueves, 30/11 (1 article) –
Las mujeres deberán recibir igual salario al de hombres (Women should receive equal pay with men) – The full Asamblea Nacional approved the Ley Orgánica para la Igualdad Salarial entre Mujeres y Hombres (Organic Law for Equal Wages for Women and Men) which will obligate both public and private employers to pay similar salaries to those who perform the same activity and have the same workload regardless of gender. The law establishes that a woman receiving a different salary from a male worker in spite of having the same abilities and qualifications, working conditions, efforts and responsibilities, can file a complaint in order to be paid fairly.

The complaint should be made to the Human Resources Unit for public employees, and to the Ministerio de Trabajo for private sector workers. In both cases, the receiver of the complaint has 15 days to respond to the worker. If the violation of the right to equality is verified, the employer should make the payment corresponding to the difference in salary, effective retroactively, and establish a new salary. <I doubt that splitting the difference will work for the new salary since no one wants a pay decrease, and men are more likely to grab a gun and start shooting co-workers.>

According to ONU Mujeres (United Nations Women) the salary gap worldwide is 16%. The gap is worse for Afro-descendants, immigrants and women who are mothers. The gap grows in management positions where women have difficulty getting hired. In a diciembre 2017 publication by INEC, the average income for a man who is working is 1.25 times higher than the income for a woman. It is worse for unpaid work where women account for 40.4% of unpaid work and men for 13.9%. This is the equivalent of women performing 77 out of every 100 hours of unpaid work. Gabriela Montalvo, specialist in economic empowerment of ONU Mujeres said that inequality impedes businesses from growing and countries from developing. According to the Banco de Desarrollo de América Latina, there is an estimate that if women were in the global labor market in equal conditions with men, the global Gross Product would increase by $28 billion in 2025.

And that’s all for today so hasta ? –

Jeanne