In Ecuador the legal minimum wage has been raised to ensure that all waged workers earn a living wa
In 8 years the Ecuadorian government has reached a goal that no other government in the world has even attempted. In Ecuador the legal minimum wage has been raised to ensure that all waged workers earn a living wage. The minimum wage level reached in 2015 now permits the average household to purchase a basket of household goods and services. This basket, the cost of which is published monthly, is divided by the average number of earners per household (1.6) and is used as a proxy for a living wage.
In 2007, when the current government came to power, the legal minimum wage covered just two thirds of a living wage. After a series of increases above consumer price inflation, this gap has been closed. Within Latin America, Ecuador is now second only to Panama when it comes to the purchasing power of its minimum wage.
Contrary to the belief of some economists, this relatively rapid rise in minimum wage levels does not appear to have carried a heavy economic cost. Ecuador has one of the lowest levels of unemployment on the continent and major employers like the big banana producing and exporting companies have welcomed a levelling-up of wages and other labour standards in the industry.
In the transition phase, the government had powers to ensure that companies did not pay dividends until they had paid their employees the difference between actual earnings and the living wage level for the year in question. Officials also stress the importance of seeing this significant achievement in the wider context of policies to favour social protection, employment contract security, labour inspection, health & safety and environmental legislation, and the employment of disabled people.
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http://www.bananalink.org.uk/ecuador-achieves-living-wage-goal
Ecuador's Leftist Correa Wants US Military To Leave
In 2009, Correa declined to renew an agreement with the United States that had allowed it to operate a base for counter-narcotics operations on Ecuadoran territory.
He has also criticized assistance the CIA provided to Colombia during a cross-border raid against FARC guerrillas in 2008.
The US Agency for International Development is ending its operations in Ecuador after failing to reach an agreement with the government, which had accused it of financing opposition groups.
http://archive.defensenews.com/article/20140123/DEFREG02/301230040/Ecuador-s-Correa-Wants-US-Military-Leave
