Revista Conexiones UG, Vol. 4, No. 1, January - June 2026
e-ISSN: 2960-8147 ISBN: 978-9942-44-827-9
Considering the above, it must be emphasized that working minors are typically engaged in precarious,
low-quality jobs, which are commonly performed by the most vulnerable sectors due to limited qualifications
and the urgent need to accept any available work. Consequently, it is necessary to progressively withdraw
children and adolescents from such activities, as the priority should not be economic gain but rather the full
enjoyment of childhood and adolescence, fostering their moral and integral development as individuals who
require significant protection from the Ecuador State.
Since the year 2000, child labor has been reduced by nearly half, from 246 million to 138 million in 2024.
Nevertheless, progress remains too slow, and the global goal of eliminating child labor by 2025 has not been
achieved. According to The International Labor Organization (2025), current rates of progress would need to be
eleven times faster to eradicate this phenomenon within the next five years. Despite continued improvements,
recent data also reveal a concerning increase in child labor between 2016 and 2020. The agricultural sector
remains the largest contributor (61%), followed by services (27%) including domestic work and market sales
and industry (13%), such as mining and manufacturing.
It should also be noted that, in most cases, working minors are either underpaid or receive no
remuneration at all. As a result, they remain trapped in poverty, and their potential contribution to their families
is often minimal, leading to a loss of both time and future opportunities.
Efforts led by organizations dedicated to protecting children and adolescents have promoted systems
aimed at achieving equality, which has become a central paradigm in their advocacy. These initiatives seek
innovative and inclusive solutions to facilitate school integration; however, such efforts often face social
barriers, including limited awareness of existing protection mechanisms and a lack of political will to implement
effective integration strategies.
Paradoxically, although the Ecuador State constitutionally and legally recognizes work as a social process,
there remains a significant number of unemployed adolescents with limited access to formal employment.
When employment is obtained, it is often characterized by minimum wages and, in some cases, the absence
of legally mandated benefits.
In this regard, The Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador, specifically Article 46(2), establishes the
principle of special protection against any form of labor or economic exploitation of adolescents. It explicitly
prohibits employment for children under the age of fifteen and stipulates that any permissible work must be
exceptional, non-hazardous, andmustnotinterferewiththerighttoeducationortheindividual’scomprehensive
personal development.
Accordingly, it is important to highlight that the national legal framework designed to protect this
specific social group is The Organic Code of Childhood and Adolescence (2014), which regulates, under Title V
“On the Work of Children and Adolescents” (Articles 81 to 95) the conditions and legal parameters governing
such activities, with particular emphasis on the provisions set forth in Article 81
Article 81. Right to Protection against Labor Exploitation.
“Children and adolescents have the right to be protected by the State, society, and the family
against labor and economic exploitation, as well as against any form of slavery, servitude, forced
labor, or work that is harmful to their health or to their physical, mental, spiritual, moral, or social
development, or that may hinder the exercise of their right to education.”
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