Cuenca Street Cleaners Are At The Center Of An EMAC Pay Dispute

A public dispute has opened between EMAC EP, Cuenca's municipal sanitation company, and the regional office of the Ministry of Labor over the workers known locally as the Hormiguitas Chuas.

These are the street-cleaning workers many residents see around Cuenca every day. According to El Mercurio, the disagreement centers on whether EMAC contractors are paying their wages properly.

What The Source Says

El Mercurio reported that a video shared on social media showed a discussion between Maria Caridad Vasquez, manager of EMAC EP, and Hernan Morales, regional director of the Ministry of Labor.

Morales questioned EMAC because its contractors were allegedly not paying the Hormiguitas. The source says he asked the company to take action and press for payment compliance.

Vasquez responded that EMAC pays the contractors, and that the contractors are the ones failing the workers. She also said EMAC would make sure the payments are regularized.

Why Cuenca Residents Notice This

For expats, this is not just a municipal labor story. It touches daily public services: street cleaning, trash-adjacent maintenance, and the visible work that keeps Cuenca's central and residential areas functional.

If the dispute continues, residents may notice service interruptions or public pressure around EMAC contracts. The source does not report a strike or service halt, so the important point is the payment dispute itself, not a claim that cleanup services have stopped.

What To Watch

The next practical question is whether EMAC and the Labor Ministry confirm that contractor payments have been regularized. Until then, this remains a worker-payment and contractor-oversight issue involving one of Cuenca's most visible public services.

Source: El Mercurio