Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Social Policy (Basic Aims and Standards) Convention, 1962 (No. 117) - Costa Rica (Ratification: 1966)

Parts I and II of the Convention. Improvement of living standards. The Committee notes with interest the information supplied by the Government in the report received in September 2013, in reply to its request of 2008. The Government reports an increase in average household income between 2010 and 2012, an improvement in job quality, a reduction in the percentage of households living in poverty and extreme poverty between 1990 and 2012 and a drop in rural poverty between 2010 and 2012. Moreover, the Government highlights the adoption of the National Development Plan 2011–2014 (PND 2011–2014), which incorporates the Millennium Development Goals. As regards the future of the country and its people, Costa Rica aspires to becoming a nation that is more competitive and more closely integrated in the global dynamic with development driven by innovation, science and technology, and to achieving greater fairness and solidarity. The Government adds that the production capacity and living standards of agricultural producers have increased. The strategic actions set forth in the PND 2011–2014 include improving the competitiveness of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and production chains; and stimulating the development of SMEs and agro-enterprises in strategic zones associated with priority sectors and areas. The Government also includes a summary of the work done by the Rural Development Institute in the area of human settlements, with a view to giving agricultural workers who need it access to a plot of land for development and production. The Committee invites the Government to include in its next report an up to date summary of the results achieved and the initiatives undertaken to ensure that “the improvement of standards of living” has been regarded as the principle objective of economic development plans (Article 2 of the Convention). The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to report on the results achieved by the measures taken to increase production capacity and improve the standard of living of agricultural producers (Article 4).

Part III. Migrant workers. The Government refers in its report to amendments introduced in the Regulations on Foreigners to regularize the immigration status of foreign nationals, particularly foreign workers. The Committee notes that the persons benefiting from these measures include domestic, agricultural and construction workers. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to provide information on the measures taken to protect migrant workers.