822.5072/6
The Chargé in Ecuador (Gade) to the Secretary of State
[Received January 4, 1938.]
Sir: With reference to my despatch No. 955 of November 9, 1937,28 on legislation discriminating against alien employees in Ecuador, I have the honor to inform the Department that under Decree No. 27 of December 13, 1937, foreign companies established in Ecuador will be obliged to pay their Ecuadorean employees and workers with over twenty years of service, monthly pensions varying from one to one and one-half percent of the total salary earned by the employee during the preceding ten years of his employment. Foreign employees may also avail themselves of the benefits of the Decree if they make their residence in Ecuador.
The text of the foregoing Decree as published in the Official Register of December 14, 1937, and an English translation thereof,28 are enclosed.
Attorneys of American interests here are unable to say at the present time to what extent the Decree will affect their respective companies, as it will depend upon whether the pension system is applied retroactively or not. The Guayaquil and Quito Railway Company has many employees, including several Americans, who may become entitled to immediate heavy pensions. It is believed that the All America Cables and the South American Development Company will also be affected, while the Cia. Bananera del Ecuador, which has been in Ecuador only three or four years, will not suffer at the present time.
Further information on this matter will be transmitted to the Department in the near future.
Respectfully yours,