Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2004, published 93rd ILC session (2005)

Labour Statistics Convention, 1985 (No. 160) - Costa Rica (Ratification: 2001)

The Committee takes note of the Government’s first report. It notes with interest from the available information that Articles 7, 8, 9, paragraph 1, and 12 appear to be applied. It notes, however, that Articles 10, 14 and 15 are applied in part and that no measures appear to have been taken to give effect to Articles 9, paragraph 2; 11 and 13. It draws the Government’s attention to the following points.

Articles 7 and 8 of the Convention. Data from the labour survey. According to Article 3, in order to take account of their needs and to ensure their cooperation, the representative organizations of employers and workers must be consulted in the design or revision of the concepts, definitions and methodology used in the collection, compilation and publication of the statistics required under the Convention. The Government is requested to indicate the measures taken to give effect to this provision in the context of the survey on the economically active population.

Article 9. While noting that the basic requirements laid down in paragraph 1 of this Article are met as regards the statistics compiled on average monthly earnings and normal weekly hours of work (instead of hours actually worked or hours paid for) from the annual household survey, the Committee observes that statistics of time rates of wages and normal hours of work have not been compiled, as paragraph 2 of this Article requires. It accordingly requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to compile: (i) statistics of average hours of work (hours actually worked or hours paid for) classified according to sex and, if appropriate, to other important characteristics, following the guidelines given in Paragraph 3(1) and (2) of Recommendation No. 170, which supplements the Convention; and (ii) statistics of time rates of wages and normal hours of work, following the guidelines in Paragraph 4(1) of the same Recommendation.

Article 10. The Committee points out that this Article requires statistics to be compiled on the structure and distribution of wages, i.e. detailed data on the composition of earnings (such as basic pay, premium pay for overtime, remuneration for time not worked and bonuses and gratuities), and on the structure of hours actually worked or hours paid for, particularly in respect of normal working hours and overtime - following the guidelines in Paragraph 5(2)(b) of Recommendation No. 170. The Government is therefore requested to keep the Office informed of any measures taken or envisaged to ensure that such statistics will be compiled.

Article 11. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information on any measures taken or envisaged to ensure that statistics of labour structure and cost are compiled and published in accordance with the resolution concerning statistics of labour cost adopted by the Eleventh International Conference of Labour Statisticians (1996) and Paragraph 6 of Recommendation No. 170. The Committee points out in this connection that these statistics should cover important branches of economic activity and, where possible, should be consistent with data on employment and hours of work, be drawn from the same source and have the same coverage.

Article 12. The Government is asked to specify the international standards and guidelines taken into consideration in applying this provision.

Article 13. The Committee notes that a new survey on household income and expenditure is under way for the period 2004-05, and hopes that the Government will take into account the latest international standards on the subject, adopted by the Seventeenth International Conference of Labour Statisticians (Article 2). It also hopes that the Government will not fail to consult the representative organizations of employers and workers (Article 3) and that relevant information on the survey will be sent in accordance with Articles 5 and 6 of the Convention.

Article 14. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information on the standards and guidelines established under the auspices of the ILO that were followed in designing or revising the concepts, definitions and methodology used for the statistics on occupational injuries (Article 2). Please indicate the manner in which the representative organizations of employers and workers are consulted (Article 3), and provide the ILO with a copy of the publication Estadisticas seguro de riesgos del trabajo and/or the title and reference number of the main publication containing the statistics and detailed descriptions of the sources, concepts, definitions and methodology used in collecting and compiling statistics of occupational injuries (Articles 5 and 6), together with any available information on the measures envisaged to extend the coverage of statistics on occupational injuries so that they are representative of the country as a whole, and information on the compilation and publication of any statistics of occupational diseases.

Article 15. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the standards and guidelines established under the auspices of the ILO that were followed in designing or revising the concepts, definitions and methodology used for the statistics on strikes and lockouts (Article 2).

Lastly, the Government is asked to indicate the manner in which employers’ and workers’ organizations are consulted (Article 3) and to indicate the title and reference number of the principal publication containing the statistics and detailed descriptions of the sources, concepts and methodology used for the collection and compilation of statistics on strikes and lockouts (Articles 5 and 6).