Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1997, published 86th ILC session (1998)

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

1. The Committee notes the Government's report, which contains information concerning the application of the Convention in general and also the question of minimum wage fixing but no reply to its previous comments. It requests the Government to supply information on the following points raised in the previous direct request:

Article 3, paragraph 1, of the Convention. In its earlier comments, the Committee noted that the Government's intention to eliminate the incompatibility of section 165 of the Labour Code with the provisions of Article 3, paragraph 1, of the Convention which lays down that wages payable in money should be paid only in legal tender and that payment in the form of promissory notes, vouchers or coupons, or in any other form alleged to represent legal tender should be prohibited. In the absence of information on this question in the report, the Committee again hopes that the Government will in due course provide a copy of the new provisions that are adopted in this regard in order to bring the legislation into conformity with the Convention.

Article 4, paragraph 2. The Committee recalls that in its earlier comments, it noted that the regulations provided for by section 2 of Decree No. 11324-TSS respecting the evaluation of allowances in kind had not yet been adopted. The Committee observes that, once again, the Government provides no information on this matter and requests it to indicate the steps taken or envisaged to ensure that these regulations are drafted and adopted.

2. In its previous observation, the Committee noted the comments made by the Confederation of Workers Rerum Novarum (CTRN), which pointed out the long working hours put in without additional pay in the road transport sector, and invited the Government to provide information on the question in the light of Articles 1 (definition of wages: "for work done or to be done") and 12, paragraph 1 (regular payment of wages) of the Convention.

The Committee noted the information supplied by the Government concerning this matter in relation to Convention No. 26 to the effect that the workers in the said sector who work more than the ordinary hours should, by virtue of the applicable provisions of the Labour Code and the relevant Decrees, be paid wages increased by 50 per cent of the minimum wage or the higher wages as stipulated. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application in practice of these legislative provisions, with particular reference to the regular payment of wages (Article 12) and to the road transport sector, including, for instance, extracts of official reports and records of inspection visits.

3. Regarding the comments made by the Association of Customs Officers (ASEPA), which was sent to the Government for comments on 17 November 1995, the Committee notes that the ASEPA states in page 12 of the communication that the payment of benefits has been awaited for three months. It requests the Government to clarify whether this concerns any benefits that would fall within the scope of the Convention in the light of the definition of the term "wages" under Article 1 of the Convention and, if so, to indicate the measures taken to ensure that wages including benefits are paid regularly in accordance with Article 12.