Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2007, published 97th ILC session (2008)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Costa Rica (Ratification: 1976)

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report. It notes in particular that the International Relations Commission is currently examining the Bill on the employment of young persons and the Bill prohibiting the performance of hazardous and unhealthy types of work by young workers. The Committee hopes that the examination of these Bills will result in their adoption and requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in the procedure relating to the two Bills and to provide copies once they have been adopted.

Article 1 of the Convention and Part V of the report form. National policy and application of the Convention in practice. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the statistics contained in the national report on the results of the study on work by children and young persons in Costa Rica, published in June 2003 by the National Statistical and Census Institute (INEC) and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MTSS), in collaboration with ILO/IPEC and the Statistical Information and Monitoring Programme on Child Labour (SIMPOC), according to which around 113,500 girls and boys aged between 5 and 17 years worked in Costa Rica. Of this number, around 49,200 children under 15 years of age, which is below the minimum age for admission to employment or work, were engaged in work, or 43.4 per cent. The principal sector of economic activity affected by child labour is agriculture, including the harvesting of coffee, which is one of the major exports in Costa Rica. The other economic sectors affected by child labour are manufacturing, commerce and services, including domestic work. Moreover, over 45 per cent of children who do not attend school do so for reasons related to work. The Committee noted the measures adopted by the Government to combat child labour, but expressed concern that the statistics showed that difficulties appear to be encountered in the application of the legislation on child labour and that child labour is widespread in Costa Rica.

The Committee takes due note of the information provided by the Government in its report, including the measures to raise awareness among public officials of the problem of child labour and the intra- and inter-institutional protection protocols intended to improve communication between the various persons working in this field. The Committee notes with interest the adoption of the Second National Plan for the prevention and elimination of child labour and the special protection of young workers (2005–10), which addresses eight subjects in a transversal manner, including rights, gender, poverty, the risk or fact of social exclusion and the social and cultural environment. The Committee further notes that, following the compilation of the various types of information provided by the institutions constituting the National Steering Committee, a report will be prepared on the progress achieved. However, it notes the statistics for 2005 of the National Directorate of Labour Inspection according to which 68 per cent of the 161 cases relating to minors working were concentrated in the central region. Furthermore, most children work in the commercial sector (33 per cent), services (27 per cent), industry (20 per cent) and the agricultural sector (15 per cent).

With reference to the Government’s collaboration with ILO/IPEC, the Committee notes that Costa Rica is participating in the Time-bound Programme (TBP) on the worst forms of child labour and the Subregional Programme for the elimination of child labour. According to the activity reports of the TBP, the programme has directly benefited over 150 families and 1,100 children and indirectly over 113,000 children. With regard to the ILO/IPEC Subregional Programme on the prevention and elimination of child labour in the coffee industry, the Committee takes due note of the statistics provided by the Government. In this respect, it notes that, in the context of the Second National Plan, the Ministry of Agriculture will develop action to eliminate child labour in agriculture. Furthermore, according to the activity reports of the TBP, projects are being implemented to prevent the premature engagement of children in work. The Committee greatly appreciates the measures adopted by the Government for the abolition of child labour, and it considers that these measures are an affirmation of the political will to develop strategies to combat this problem. It therefore strongly encourages the Government to pursue its efforts to combat child labour and requests it to provide information on the implementation of the projects and the new National Plan referred to above, and on the results achieved in terms of the progressive abolition of child labour, particularly in the agricultural, industrial, commercial and service sectors. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including statistical information disaggregated by sex on the nature and extent of work by children, extracts of the reports of the inspection services and information on the number and nature of the violations reported and the penalties imposed.

Article 2. Minimum age for admission to employment or work. In its previous comments, the Committee noted a contradiction between, on the one hand, section 89 of the Labour Code, which established a minimum age for admission to employment of 12 years and, on the other, sections 78 and 92 of the Code of Children and Young Persons, which set this minimum age at 15 years, in accordance with the minimum age specified when the Convention was ratified. In this respect, the Government indicated that, despite the contradiction between the provisions of the Labour Code respecting the minimum age for admission to employment and work and those of the Code of Children and Young Persons, the applicable rule was contained in the latter. The Government added that it would convey to the competent authorities the suggestion made by the Committee of Experts that the provisions of the Labour Code should be harmonized with those of the Code of Children and Young Persons. In view of these statistics on child labour, the Committee considered that, to ensure the protection of children under 15 years of age who are engaged in work, the harmonization of the provisions of the Labour Code with those of the Code of Children and Young Persons is important.

In its report, the Government indicates that no draft legislation has been submitted to amend the Labour Code. However, in the legal system in Costa Rica, the principle that a standard contained in special legislation, in the present case the Code of Children and Young Persons, prevails over one contained in a general law, in this case the Labour Code, is applicable, as well as the principle that the most favourable provision and the most beneficial conditions have to be implemented. While taking due note of the Government’s indications, the Committee considers it desirable, taking into account the statistics on work by children under 15 years of age in the country, for the provisions of the Labour Code to be harmonized with those of the Code of Children and Young Persons. It hopes that on the occasion of a revision of the labour legislation, and particularly of the Labour Code, the Government will take the necessary measures in this respect.