QUITO, May 1 -- Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno on Friday asked employers and employees to come to agreements to avoid layoffs in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has strongly impacted the economy.
"These are difficult times for Ecuador and the world. That is why it is important, especially now, that the employer and worker work together, that they reach agreements, forming a single team to get ahead," Moreno said while speaking on national television to mark the occasion of International Workers' Day.
"It is necessary that we reach agreements and that we can exercise our sacred right to work," said the president.
He noted that despite the difficult circumstances the whole world is experiencing, workers continue to be "unstoppable."
"I know that you are driven by the conviction to come through for the big family. The big family that is our homeland goes beyond hoping for the best; it means doing everything better and maintaining the hope that there is always a future to be fought for," Moreno said.
Ecuador has been hit hard by the pandemic, with 26,336 cases of COVID-19 and 1,063 deaths as of Friday.
The pandemic has also had an impact on the dollarized local economy, which became virtually paralyzed after the declaration of a state of emergency decreed by the government on March 16, with many businesses closing or downsizing their workforces.
The government predicts, in addition to the fall in the price of oil, the country's main export, a contraction of the local economy of more than 4 percent in 2020.