Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Protection of Wages Convention, 1949 (No. 95) - Costa Rica (Ratification: 1960)

Articles 6, 8 and 9 of the Convention. Freedom of workers to dispose of their wages – Deductions from wages. The Committee refers to its previous comment pursuant to observations made by the Union of Workers of the Ministry of Finance and the National Customs Service (SITRAHSAN) concerning the obligation for certain officials to take out an insurance policy (póliza de fidelidad) designed to ensure that they duly fulfil their obligations. It notes with interest the detailed information communicated by the Government on the rules for implementing this obligation, and in particular the fact that the amount of insurance premiums paid by the official concerned is relatively low compared to that of their pay.

Articles 3 and 4. Payment of wages in legal tender and value attributed to allowances in kind. The Committee follows-up on comments it has been making for many years on the need to amend sections 165 and 166 of the Labour Code. As regards section 165, more particularly the possibility of giving workers on coffee plantations coupons that may later be converted into cash, the Committee notes that the Legal Affairs Department of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security had consultations with the Costa Rican Coffee Institute and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock to try to obtain more specific information on the way in which workers involved in coffee harvesting are paid and to take a decision concerning the reactivation of the draft amendment of this provision of the Labour Code. As regards section 166 of the Labour Code, under which the value of the remuneration in kind is fixed at a flat rate of 50 per cent of the wage in cash if another amount has not been fixed by an agreement between the parties, the Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government on the subject of the criteria used to establish whether the allowances in kind provided by the employer should be qualified as wages or not. It notes that the Government, while indicating that the fixing of the value of remuneration in kind must reflect reality, nevertheless confirms the application of the regulation established under section 166 of the Labour Code. While noting that, according to the Government, no complaint has been lodged with the labour inspection services on this matter, the Committee recalls, as it stressed in its 2003 General Survey on wage protection (paragraph 153), that Article 4(2) of the Convention imposes an obligation as to the result to be achieved and therefore requires the adoption of practical measures to ensure that any allowances in kind which may be provided in partial settlement of the wages due are attributed a fair and reasonable value. Determining a flat rate to fix this value, as stipulated under section 166 of the Labour Code, does not seem to be in conformity with the Convention on this point. Furthermore, the absence of specific criteria for the assessment of the value of allowances in kind by the parties concerned carries a degree of risk of abuse in this area. By way of example, some national legislations specify that the value of any payment in kind must normally correspond to the cost price and may in no case exceed its market value. The Committee notes that the Government has reiterated its request for technical assistance from the Office concerning the draft amendments to sections 165 and 166 of the Labour Code. The Committee hopes that the Office will provide the technical assistance requested in the very near future so that the Government might take the necessary measures to bring sections 165 and 166 of the Labour Code fully in line with the provisions of the Convention.

Articles 8 and 12. Deductions from wages and payment of wages at regular intervals. The Committee notes with interest the measures described in the Government’s report aimed at strengthening the labour inspection services, particularly the introduction of an electronic system of cases and the institution of a national campaign for the respect of minimum wages. It notes the information on the way in which inspection visits aimed at stopping the irregular payment of wages in enterprises are conducted. Finally, the Committee notes that, according to the Government’s report, the problems linked to the unjustified deductions from wages – upon which the Committee had previously commented – have been settled and no complaint has been lodged on this matter.