Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Costa Rica (Ratification: 1966)

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The Committee notes the observations of the Costa Rican Federation of Chambers and Associations of Private Enterprise (UCCAEP), transmitted by the Government with its report. It also notes the observations of the Rerum Novarum Workers’ Confederation (CTRN), the Costa Rican Confederation of Democratic Workers (CCTD), the Costa Rican Workers’ Movement Confederation (CMTC), the General Confederation of Workers (CGT), and the United Confederation of Workers (CUT), as well as the observations of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), received on 1 September 2023. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in this respect.

Follow-up to the conclusions of the Committee on the Application of Standards (International Labour Conference, 111th Session, June 2023)

The Committee notes the discussion which took place in the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards (CAS) in June 2023 regarding the application of the Convention. In its conclusions, the Committee regretted that the Government had failed to establish and implement a comprehensive national policy designed to promote full, productive and freely chosen employment in full consultation with the social partners.

Taking into account the discussion of the case, the CAS urged the Government, in consultation with the social partners, to take the following measures: (i) adopt a comprehensive national employment policy to promote the creation of full, productive and freely chosen employment opportunities in line with the Convention; (ii) intensify efforts to strengthen social dialogue and include the social partners on the initiatives already developed as well as those that may be implemented in the future, notably on employment policies and programmes, incorporation of young people in the labour market as well as promotion of gender equality and equal opportunities in access to employment; (iii) provide information on the impact of the measures adopted to achieve the objectives of the Convention, including those adopted under the National Strategy for Employment and Productive Development (ENDEP) and the Bicentennial National Development and Public Investment Plan (PNDIP) 2019–22; (iv) take measures to ensure that the Act on strengthening public finances fully complies with the Convention and does not infringe on fundamental principles and rights at work; (v) indicate the manner in which representatives of workers’ and employers’ organizations have been consulted, as well as representatives of the parties involved in the design, development, implementation, monitoring and revision of the active labour market measures adopted, including the Act on strengthening public finances; and (vi) ensure tripartite consultation on the development of employment policies and programmes by creating a national tripartite council. The CAS asked the Government to provide the Committee of Experts with full and complete information on the above issues before 1 September 2023.

Article 1 of the Convention. Adoption and implementation of an active employment policy. The Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government in its report on the policies, programmes and actions implemented to promote the creation of employment, in particular to promote the employability of the population. Among the measures taken, the Government highlights the launch on 26 July 2023 of the National Strategy on Employability and Human Talent (ENETH-CR) 2023–27, which was drawn up with the technical assistance of the ILO Regional Office for Central America and the Caribbean. The aim of the ENETH-CR is to improve the employability of active jobseekers, especially women, young persons and individuals living in conditions of poverty, with a view to promoting more inclusive and sustainable economic growth. The Government also indicates that, thanks to the creation of the National Employment System (SNE) in 2019, public employment services now carry out more focused work, and access to these services is guaranteed in all parts of the country through a network of employment units. The Government adds that the SNE is also responsible for ensuring that the services offered respond not only to the dynamics of the labour market but also to the needs of individuals, especially those living in situations of vulnerability. Furthermore, the Government indicates that various reports on the State of the Nation Programme (PEN), conducted independently by universities in the country, have underlined the inequalities that exist in territorial development and have highlighted the need to tackle territorial gaps to avoid any worsening of problems which are preventing significant progress in productivity and social equity in the country. In this regard, the Government indicates that, thanks to the implementation of the Act on strengthening territorial competitiveness to attract investment outside the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM) (Act No. 10234 of 2022), a greater number of jobs outside the GAM has been created. The Government indicates that free zone enterprises have created 159,331 direct jobs (88,555 occupied by men and 69,775 by women). The Committee also notes the information provided by the Government on the results of the National Development and Public Investment Plan (PNDIP) 2019–22. The Government indicates that although many of the targets set in the PNDIP were achieved, some were not achieved with respect to reducing open unemployment and increasing formal employment in 2022, partly because the labour market is still recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Committee also notes the adoption of the new National Development and Public Investment Plan (PNDIP) 2023–26, which provides for the adoption of, inter alia, public policy measures aimed at promoting an appropriate ecosystem for facilitating the entry into the job market of persons in situations of vulnerability (such as women, young people and persons with disabilities). The PNDIP 2023–26 also provides for the implementation of public actions aimed at ensuring a better match between occupational demand and the technical and vocational training of workers. As regards labour market trends, the Committee notes that, according to the ongoing survey of employment of the National Statistics and Census Institute (INEC), in the first quarter of 2023 the net participation rate and the occupation rate were 56.8 per cent and 50.7 per cent, respectively, while the unemployment rate was 10.6 per cent. The Government also indicates that the proportion of persons occupied in the informal economy was 41.8 per cent. The Committee also notes that, on the basis of available INEC information on the PNDIP 2023–26, the income poverty index (level of income below the minimum needed to cover the price of the basic food basket (CBA)) was 21 per cent in 2021.

The Committee also notes that the ITUC claims in its observations that the number of men and women who have stopped looking for work has increased. The confederation claims that over a million women are outside the labour market, which is twice the number of men. The ITUC also highlights the alarming levels of poverty and unemployment and denounces the worrying lack of action by the Government. The Confederation also emphasizes that unstable and insecure forms of employment are omnipresent and there is an alarming number of persons who lack legal protection and social security benefits. In this regard, the ITUC highlights the lack of robust government initiatives to provide incentives to make the transition from the informal to the formal economy. The CTRN, CMTC, CGT, CCTD and CUT point out that even though, in the context of a tripartite formalization committee, a national strategy was designed with ILO assistance in 2018 and various action plans were formulated to implement it in 2020, these measures were not implemented because of lack of action by the Government. The unions add that there is no linkage between employment policies and policies aimed at formalizing the informal economy. Lastly, the CTRN, CMTC, CGT, CCTD and CUT reiterate that the Government has not established or implemented a comprehensive national policy designed to promote full, productive and freely chosen employment in full consultation with the social partners. They underline the need to formulate and implement a comprehensive employment policy as a matter of urgency.

In this context, the Committee notes the approval of the road map for the formulation of a national employment policy by the Higher Labour Council (CST) on 5 October 2023. The road map was proposed by ILO experts at the CST meeting of 21 September 2023. The Committee also notes that the Government is requesting ILO technical and financial assistance to formulate a national employment policy based on tripartite social dialogue. The Committee welcomes the first steps taken by the Government aimed at formulating, with the participation of the social partners, a comprehensive national employment policy to promote opportunities for full, productive and freely chosen employment. The Committee hopes that any new policy framework established will make it possible to give effect to the conclusions adopted in June 2023 by the International Labour Conference Committee on the Application of Standards and to hold effective consultations with the social partners on all concerns raised by them in their observations. The Committee requests the Government to send information on progress achieved in this respect. The Committee also requests the Government to continue sending detailed information, disaggregated by age, sex and region of the country, on the results achieved in terms of the creation of employment as a result of the implementation of government programmes. In addition, given the high rate of informality, the Committee requests the Government to send detailed information on the scope of the informal economy and on the measures taken, in coordination with its national employment policy, to facilitate the transition to the formal economy. In this regard, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the guidance provided by the Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy Recommendation, 2015 (No. 204).

Article 3. Participation of the social partners. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that both the regulatory reforms and the most relevant national labour market active policy initiatives have been the result of participatory social dialogue processes. The Government also indicates that tripartite consultations on the development of SNE employment policies and programmes take place in the Employment Council. Under section 7 of Decree No. 41776-MTSS establishing the SNE, the functions of the Employment Council include: (i) issuing SNE policies and monitoring compliance with them; (ii) laying down guidelines and actions to govern employment services in line with changes in the labour market; (iii) establishing target groups for the SNE; (iv) promoting training programmes; and (v) approving the use of research results and instruments to provide guidance for employment services. In this regard, the Government indicates that the ENETH-CR was unanimously approved in the Employment Council. The Government also refers to other ongoing forums for tripartite consultations, such as the CST and the board of the National Training Institute (INA). The Committee also notes that the UCCAEP maintains that most actions implemented regarding employment and employability have tripartite involvement. In this regard, the UCCAEP refers, inter alia, to the drawing up of the Dual Education and Technical Training Act in a tripartite dialogue committee and also to the approval of various actions aimed at preserving jobs in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Committee also notes that the CTRN, CMTC, CGT, CCTD and CUT state that although there has been a relative improvement in the Ministry of Labour’s efforts to engage in social dialogue regarding the ENETH-CR, this has been the only initiative discussed to date by the Employment Council. In this regard, the CTRN, CMTC, CGT and CCTD attach the minutes of the relevant meeting of the Council, in which they state that the theoretical formulation of the ENETH-CR is interesting but add that their participation in the design of it was only partial, since there was insufficient feedback and tripartite discussion. They assert that the ENETH-CR document of some 150 pages was sent to them only a day and a half before it was submitted to the Employment Council for approval. The CTRN, CMTC, CGT, CCTD and CUT also indicate that there has been no intensification of the tripartite dialogue on employment policies and programmes, such as those adopted in relation to the integration of young people in the labour market and the promotion of gender equality. By way of example, the CTRN, CMTC, CGT, CCTD and CUT point out that the social partners do not participate in the monitoring of the results of employment programmes such as Empléate, Mi Primer Empleo and Chamba Vivís Mejor, and assert that there is no information available on their contribution to securing employment. Lastly, the CTRN, CMTC, CGT, CCTD and CUT maintain that tripartite consultations should not be exclusively limited to employment policy measures but should also include all aspect of economic policy which affect employment. They emphasize that there is a need to hold consultations with the social partners not only on labour market and vocational training programmes but also on the design of more general economic policies which are related to the promotion of employment. In this regard, the Committee recalls that employment policy must take due account of the interrelationship between employment objectives and other economic and social objectives and, in particular, should seek to stimulate economic growth and development, while increasing the standard of living and addressing the issue of unemployment and underemployment. In light of the above, the Committee requests the Government to provide specific examples of how consultation is ensured with representatives of workers’ and employers’ organizations and with representatives of persons affected by the measures to be taken as regards the design, development, implementation, monitoring and revision of the active labour market measures adopted, with a view to taking fully into account their experience and views and securing their full cooperation in formulating and enlisting support for such policies, in accordance with Article 3 of the Convention.

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