El Salvador seeks to Improve Labor Laws

El Salvador seeks to Improve Labor Laws

El Salvador’s Minister of Labor addresses issues of interest for construction workers, private security, and municipal employees in “Las Cosas como Son” (Things as They Are).

The Minister of Labor and Social Welfare, Rolando Castro, began the interview by lamenting the deeply rooted culture of labor impunity prevailing in the country.

He considers this situation worrisome, “as society perceives such occurrences as normal.” It is against this backdrop that the official has been fighting to protect the labor rights of the working class, specifically those of construction workers, private security firms, and municipal employees.

“It is concerning to observe that some employers make their employees work more hours, offering only $0.50 for overtime. Many workers, unaware of their rights or fair remuneration, accept these conditions,” Castro lamented.

He explained that by law, if an employee works between 7:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., the employer is obligated to pay a 25% night shift surcharge on the corresponding salary.

“Previously, the labor minister favored the employer with just a call to the ministerial office, allowing the continuance of law violations,” he said.

Castro stated that there is currently an outdated Labor Code dating back over 50 years, which is out of sync with the modern and globalized work environment.

“It does not align with the current development or needs of workers.” He mentioned an ongoing project to improve a new Labor Code in collaboration with employers and workers, intending to submit the proposal to the President of the Republic, Nayib Bukele, by the end of this year.

Rolando Castro also addressed inspections taking place in the construction, private security, and municipal government sectors. In the case of the first two, substantial fines have been imposed for repeated labor law violations.

Regarding municipalities, he mentioned that notifications have been sent to various municipalities since last week to ensure compliance with the law, especially regarding employee hiring. All municipalities are using the figure of fraudulent contracts for their own benefit.

He asserted that if municipal workers’ functions are permanent and they are made to sign a temporary contract, municipal authorities are engaging in fraudulent contracts.

“This has legal implications, and in this case, when one is a public official, it explicitly states that the law must be enforced. A public official who does not comply may even be liable for a criminal offense.”

Domestic Worker Rights in El Salvador

In a recent presentation before CIDH, focused on advancing the rights of domestic workers in the Americas and the Caribbean, the Corte Internacional de Derechos Humanos urged countries in the region to commit to efforts in the transformation of their societies through education in social security rights, with the premise that exercising this right fully is necessary to combat poverty.

Informal work, inadequate regulation of the domestic worker profession, and the continued lack of recognition as an important working sector reflects salaries below the minimum wage in many countries. El Salvador was mentioned as one of the countries of the region were regulation of the domestic labor sector are needed.

The Inter-American Court has ruled that States have a duty to adopt necessary measures and fulfill their obligations. Informality poses a barrier to social security and other labor rights, such as working hours control and adequate remuneration.

The lack of regulation encourages a growing trend towards informality, which leaves workers at grave risk from lack of labor protections, arbitrary dismissals, lack of health insurance and social security protections, which affect workers when sick, aging, and places young domestic workers at risk of abuses. The CIDH hearing referenced progressive advances by countries in the region like Uruguay, Mexico and Argentina that offer models of successful domestic labor organization to promote and protect worker rights.

El Salvador is making important advances with worker rights in construction, security and municipal sectors. As these trends continue, we hope the domestic worker labor sector in El Salvador will soon benefit from labor rights.