Public employee unions file legal challenges, plan nationwide protest against new anti-corruption law

The Public Integrity Law, approved June 24 by Ecuador’s National Assembly and approved by President Daniel Noboa, has sparked strong opposition from public employee labor unions as a result of changes it made to the public service labor law. The unions have filed legal challenges to the new law and plan national protests July 11.

Public employees plan a nationwide protest against the new anti-corruption law on July 11.

Originally intended to combat corruption, the Public Integrity Law amended more than two dozen rules in the Organic Law of the Public Service (LOSEP) that govern public workers. Among the most contentious changes are: New rules for accessing retirement benefits; Mandatory evaluations every six months; Revised policies for temporary (occasional) contracts; and Changed procedures and criteria for dismissals.

The government claims the changes are necessary to combat corruption in public institutions while the unions say the changes regressive and harmful to public servants’ labor rights.

Public health professionals, including doctors, nurses and technicians, took the streets earlier this week in Guayaquil, Quito and Cuenca to protest the changes, calling them a “devastating blow” to job stability.

Carlos Cárdenas of the Ecuadorian Medical Federation claimed the elimination of LOSEP’s Article 89, which previously required an administrative process for dismissals. According to Cárdenas, its removal allows for arbitrary terminations without due process. “With just a simple interview, a supervisor could decide to fire someone. Where is the professional evaluation? That should be the basis for any dismissal,” he said.

Cárdenas says the changes have created a “climate of fear” and uncertainty among workers who perform critical, high-risk duties.

The unions also object to changes in retirement rules for public employees. Previously, public servants could receive a payout upon retirement at age 60, but under the new law, they must be 65 to qualify. Miguel García of the Central de Trabajadores del Sector Público claims the change is a “rollback of rights” and may signal an increase of Social Security Institute’s (IESS) retirement age for all workers, both public and private.

Public unions also object to the new biannual job evaluation system. While not opposed to performance assessments, they are concerned about the lack of details about how the evaluations will be conducted. “We’re not afraid of being evaluated,” says union spokesperson Cristóbal Buendía, “What worries us is the type of evaluation and the lack of safeguards against unfair dismissal. The new did not provide information about these reviews. All it says is that that the rules will be announced at a later date.”

Another union leader, Miguel García, claims that eliminating the requirement for an administrative summary of employee reviews means that a poorly rated public servant could be dismissed without compensation.

The National Union of Educators (UNE) has filed a lawsuit with the Constitutional Court challenging the constitutionality of the new law. UNE President Andrés Quishpe says the legislation violates workers’ rights, particularly regarding voluntary retirement. “This cannot stand and we will do whatever is necessary to rescind it,” he says, adding that, “The government is using the security crisis as a smokescreen to dismantle worker protections that took years to implement.”

The United Workers’ Front (FUT) has also announced it will file a lawsuit.

In response to the labor challenges, Assembly President Niels Olsen stated that a legal strategy is being prepared to defend the law.