Gaps between regulations and practice in the protection of migrant workers in Ecuador
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In Ecuador, gaps persist between a legal framework that guarantees rights and its effective implementation in the labor protection of migrants. This study analyzes this gap by comparing constitutional, legal, and international standards with institutional practices and experiences reported by migrant workers. A mixed approach with a non-experimental, cross-sectional design was used; a twelve-item Likert-type survey was administered to fifteen migrant workers and three semi-structured interviews were conducted, supplemented by a document review. The questionnaire achieved adequate internal consistency, with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.845. The results show that 53.3 percent do not perceive sufficient legal protection, 60.0 percent report insufficient information on rights and obligations, and 66.7 percent consider the institutional response to labor discrimination to be inadequate. These findings reveal an implementation gap linked to information deficits, inaccessible reporting channels, and limited inspection capacities, accentuated by socio-labor factors that restrict the actual enforceability of rights. It is concluded that strengthening information systems, effective reporting channels, inspection capacity, and redress mechanisms, together with labor integration actions, is essential to translate regulatory standards into effective protection.
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