Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2015, published 105th ILC session (2016)

Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention, 1983 (No. 159) - Costa Rica (Ratification: 1991)

The Committee notes the observations made by the Costa Rican Federation of Chambers and Associations of Private Enterprise (UCCAEP), which were submitted with the Government’s report.

Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. Implementation of a national policy. In its previous comment, the Committee requested the Government to supply information on public policies and private initiatives aimed at integrating persons with disabilities into the open labour market. The Committee notes with interest the measures taken by the Government to promote employment opportunities for persons with disabilities, in particular the Act on the inclusion and protection of persons with disabilities in the public sector (Act No. 8862 of 16 September 2010) and its regulations (Executive Decree No. 36462-MP-MTSS of 2 February 2011), and Directive No. 277-MEP “Institutional Policy for the Reservation of Jobs, in accordance with the provisions of the Act on the inclusion and protection of persons with disabilities in the public sector and its regulations” of 13 March 2013. The Government adds in its report that, in November 2014, a protocol for the inter-institutional coordination of vocational training and placement for persons with disabilities in Costa Rica was concluded to improve coordination between the three institutions responsible for vocational training and labour integration. The protocol is one of the measures taken in accordance with the National Plan for the Labour Integration of Persons with Disabilities (2012–15). The Government also refers to measures to encourage the creation of employment opportunities for persons with disabilities, which are set out in the National Development Plan 2015–18, and the extension of the scope of the Empléate (Find a Job) programme of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, with coverage of persons with disabilities through the programme Empléate Inclusivo (Find Inclusive Employment). The Committee also notes that in June 2015, 1,358 persons with disabilities were registered on the online platform Buscoempleo (Seeking Work). The UCCAEP indicates that the working group on the employability of persons with disabilities, coordinated by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, encourages labour integration through the certification of private enterprises and the expansion of existing incentives for the hiring of persons with disabilities, and is actively involved in the Government’s initiatives. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the impact of the measures adopted to promote employment opportunities for persons with disabilities on the regular labour market.

Article 5. Consultation with the social partners. The Committee notes that the bodies represented in the Inter-institutional Technical Committee for the Employability of Persons with Disabilities include the UCCAEP and two organizations of and for persons with disabilities. The Committee requests the Government to describe the manner in which representative workers’ organizations are also consulted on the matters covered by the Convention.