Members of organized labor groups are volunteering to help out with disaster relief efforts.
The Ecuadorean Labor ministry called on workers to assist in the country’s reconstruction efforts on Friday following a 7.8 magnitude Earthquake that struck the country earlier this month killing almost 700 people and devastating the country’s coastline.
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“We request that the social movements and officials open spaces for support and join efforts to rebuild,” Ecuadorean Labor Deputy Minister Jose Galvez said.
The country will deploy worker delegations to the coast in order to help with relief efforts, as part of the country’s official May Day celebrations.
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“The act will take place on May 1, and represent a symbolic act of cooperation and work to help rebuild the destruction caused by the earthquake,” the Ministry of Labor said in a press release.
Due to the country’s state of exception, which was declared in the aftermath of the earthquake, the country’s largest trade unions agreed to suspend this years annual worker demonstrations, in order to to contribute in humanitarian and operational assistance in the affected areas.
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