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

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Costa Rica (Ratification: 1960)

The Committee takes note of the Government’s report and of an extensive reply by the Government to the comments submitted by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the Workers’ Confederation Rerum Novarum (CTRN). For the most part the above organizations raised matters already dealt with by the Committee in its observation of 2003. Their comments will be examined together with the Government’s reply in 2005 in the context of the regular reporting cycle for the application of this Convention.

The Committee notes the discussion on the application of the Convention that took place in the Conference Committee in June 2004 and particularly the following conclusions: (1) the Government is in agreement with the changes requested by the Committee of Experts; (2) the request by the Government representative for a dialogue process at the ILO headquarters with the participation of the legislative and judicial authorities as well as the Ombudsman, in order to find a solution to the problems through dialogue with ILO experts and officials; and (3) the hope expressed by the Conference Committee that the process of social dialogue will facilitate the solution of the questions raised by the Committee of Experts.

The Committee observes that the envisaged dialogue meeting did not take place so as to discuss the following problems: (1) slow and ineffectual procedures for penalties and redress in the event of anti-union acts, and drafting of a Bill, with tripartite consensus, which provides for a rapid procedure; (2) restrictions on the right to collective bargaining in the public sector under various decisions of the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court; drafting of various Bills including a constitutional reform Bill to overcome this problem; and adoption of a Decree in May 2001 to address the problem; (3) requirement of proportionality and rationality in public sector collective bargaining; the Constitutional Chamber has ruled that several clauses of a public sector collective agreement are unconstitutional and according to the latest comments by the ICFTU and the CTRN the problem is spreading to other collective agreements; and (4) the huge disproportion in the private sector between the number of collective agreements concluded with trade unions - 12, with a coverage of 7,200 workers - and the number of direct arrangements concluded by non-unionized workers - 130; the Committee of Experts had requested an independent inquiry into this matter.

The Committee notes that the Government has requested a technical assistance mission for March 2005 and hopes that at its next meeting the dialogue process at the ILO headquarters requested by the Government will take place.