PRINCIPLES AND RIGHTS AT WORK IN THE CONTEXT OF THE TWELFTH INTER-AMERICAN CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS OF LABOUR OF OAS. SELECTED COUNTRY: COSTA RICA

GENERAL OBJECTIVE AN ANALYSIS OF THE DEGREE OF COMPLIANCE IN COSTA RICA WITH THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES AND RIGHTS AT WORK.

In the Dominican Republic, the “Tripartite Subregional Meeting on Labour Relations, Social Dialogue and Democratic Governance: Towards a Labour Agenda”, was held in Santo Domingo in May 2002 under ILO’s auspices. PRODUCT: “Santo Domingo Agreement for the Adoption of a Central American Labour Agenda”

The Santo Domingo Agreement is designed to foster: A) Generation of decent work, B) Compliance with each country’s labour legislation in accordance with ILO Conventions 87 and 98, 29 and 105, 138 and 182, 100 and 111, C) Respect for the principles embodied in the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, promotion of employment and decent work, adoption of adequate occupational safety and health practices, and promotion of gender equity, D) Stronger social dialogue between workers and employers as partners in the production process, as well as bipartite and/or tripartite fora, E) Support for “action programmes on the issue of labour migration in the Subregion” and the prepartion of related studies, F) Equal opportunities and treatment for men workers and women workers.

Costa Rica and compliance with the fundamental principles and rights embodied in the ILO Declaration and the Santo Domingo Agreement: a)Freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining, b)The effective abolition of child labour, and the prohibition of all forms of forced or compulsory labour, c) Elimination fo discrimination in respect of employment and occupation, d) Actions against gender-based discrimination, e) Equal rights and immigrant workers.

A) Freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining. - LEGAL INSTRUMENTS: - The ILO Conventions on freedom of association, the right to organise, and collective bargaining (C.87 y C.98) - Decreto Ejecutivo (executive order) MTSS of 31 May 2001, regulating collective bargaining in the Public Sector. - Resolución Ministerial (ministerial resolution) n of 14 August 1998 and Resolución Ministerial of 11 September Labour Code (Código de Trabajo). - Bills in Parliament providing for the ratification of ILO Conventions 151 and 154, given that they strengthen the application of ILO Convention 98.

B) Abolition of child Labour -LEGAL INSTRUMENTS: - Ratification of ILO Convention 138 (1974) - Ley (statute) 7184 of August Costa Rica ratifies the Convention on Children’s Rights. - Memorandum of Understanding signed by us with the ILO in June 1996 and renewed in June 2003, whereby we adhere to the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC). - Decreto Ejecutivo MTSS of March 1997, amended by Decreto Ejecutivo MTSS. - Decreto Ejecutivo MTSS of December National Plans for the Prevention, Progressive Elimination of Child Labour and the Protection of Young Persons of, respectively, December 1998 and 2003 – the latter being in force until Code on the protecton of children and young persons (Ley 7739 of 6 February 1998; Código de la Niñez y Adolescencia). - Statute against the sexual exploitation of minors (1990) - Decreto Ejecutivo MTSS, of 10 January 2001, regulating labour contracts and occupational health standards for young persons. - ILO Convention 182, ratified on 31 July 2001, on the worst forms of child labour.

C) Actions in respect of employment and occupation -LEGAL INSTRUMENTS: - The National Employment Policy being developed by the High Council on Labour - Programmes for unemployed workers - Equal rights and jobs guaranteeing no discrimination in employment - Amnesty programmes for migrant workers - Hire of Panamanian indigenous migrant workers - DNE’S Labour Brokerage Service

D) Actions against gender-based discrimination -LEGAL INSTRUMENTS: - Actions against gender-based discrimination - Actions aimed at providing external training on women’s labour rights - Preparing a Handbook on best labour practices and Rules on its application to public and private organizations in Costa Rica. (Research entrusted to the Department of Labor of the United States in addition to ILO and INAMU. -The newly added Title Eleven of the Labour Code prohibits discrimination at work based on age, ethnic group, gender or religion. Another Decreto Ejecutivo later expanded the concept to include other factors including colour, age, gender, disability) - Bill in Parliament, reforming Chapter XIII of the Labour Code so as to reduce the number of working hours for domestic women workers. - Bill in Parliament n (Ley de Incentivos a la Contratación de Personal Femenino en la Empresa Privada), providing incentives for private enterprises to hire women workers. -Preparation of four labour orientation guidebooks on: Professional information on employment and the labour market; educational opportunities; vocational and occupational orientation; and job search technique.

E) Equal rights and immigrant workers -LEGAL INSTRUMENTS: -Draft agreement to regulate migration flows for purposes of employment between Costa Rica and Nicaragua: the urgent need to improve the institutional capacity of both countries is recognized, especially in the areas of employment, labour migration and labour inspection, in order to coordinate, supervise and carry out technical research making it possible to identify conditions and opportunities of employment in various productive sectors. - Bills in Parliament: the future new statute on migration and foreigners currently being debated by the General Assembly, and legislation doing away with the current recognition of the job broker’s role in the Labour Code. - Provisional agreements providing for controlled movements of labour: governmental institutions liaise with businesses requiring labour in the coffee, banana, sugar cane, melon and orange growing industries.

E) Equal rights and immigrant workers -Activities taking place in the MTSS, the Labour Directorate, and the Labour Migration Technical Area : Technical research in the labour market by sector of economic activity. The focus is on informing and orienting unemployed workers, whether nationals or foreigners, on job opportunities inside the country. Actions are undertaken to protect the unemployed. Labour inspections at work centres in order to verify compliance with labour rights and basic employment standards for national and migrant workers. Coverage is provided to persons with a refugee status accredited by the Directorate General in charge of Migration and Foreigners, based on the 1951 United Nations Convention and Protocol on Refugees.