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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Costa Rica (Ratification: 1960)

Article 1 of the Convention. Equal remuneration for work of equal value. The Committee has been referring for a number of years to article 57 of the National Constitution, which establishes that “the wage shall always be equal for equal work under identical conditions of efficiency”, and to section 167 of the Labour Code, which provides that “quantity and quality shall be taken into account when determining the level of the wage for each type of work. Equal wages shall be paid for equal work, performed in the same job and under equal conditions of efficiency and time ...”. The Committee recalls that these provisions do not give full effect to the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value established in the Convention. The Committee recalls that the concept “work of equal value” includes but goes beyond equal remuneration for “equal”, the “same” or “similar” work, that it does not require work to be performed in the same conditions or with the same efficiency, and that it encompasses work that is of an entirely different nature, which is nevertheless of equal value. Noting that the Government provides no specific information on this matter, the Committee again asks it to take the necessary steps to amend the legislation so as to give full legislative effect to the principle of the Convention, and to provide information on the progress made in this regard.

The Committee is also raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.