Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, 1919 (No. 1) - Costa Rica (Ratification: 1982)

Articles 2 and 6(1)(b) of the Convention. Hours of work and overtime of bus drivers. The Committee notes the information sent by the Government and by the National Chamber of Transport in reply to the previous comment it made with respect to observations submitted by the Rerum Novarum Workers’ Confederation (CTRN) on the working hours of bus drivers. It notes that the Government refers to its 2011 report on this matter and reaffirms that the CTRN’s allegations are incorrect, recalling that any infringement of the legislation in force would be examined by the labour inspection services, regardless of any legal action taken. It indicates that in 2011 the National Directorate of Labour Inspection undertook 138 inspections in transport enterprises. No infringements were reported in 18 enterprises, and 87 per cent of the other 120 enterprises applied the measures requested by the labour inspector. The Committee also notes that, according to comments made by the National Chamber of Transport, in addition to the information contained in its communication of 24 November 2010, the practice whereby the driver had to clean the bus without being paid for these hours of work has fallen into disuse because the modernization of transport has resulted in specialized staff having to do this job.

The Committee notes, however, that the CTRN renewed its allegations in a communication dated 30 August 2012, which included individual statements from bus drivers to the effect that they worked more than 12 hours on Sundays without being paid overtime. The CTRN also enclosed press cuttings referring to a strike organized by bus drivers employed by the company “Transportes Unidos la 400” in November 2011 to press their claims for sanitation facilities in bus depots, the payment of overtime, a lunch break and a stop to unofficial payments. According to this information, the strike was called off after an agreement had been reached to initiate negotiations on these matters with the participation of a representative from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MTSS). The Committee notes that, in a communication received on 22 November 2012, the Government indicated that it is conducting consultations with a view to submitting, the soonest possible, its reply to the comments of the CTRN. Hoping to receive this response very shortly, the Committee requests the Government to provide information, in particular, on the outcome of the negotiations conducted after the strike and on its impact on the working conditions of bus drivers employed by other companies. Furthermore, given that the CTRN’s allegations seem serious and are backed up by testimonies of the workers concerned, the Committee asks the Government to take all the necessary measures in the immediate future to ascertain whether the provisions of the Convention are effectively enforced in practice in the case of bus drivers, and to provide detailed information on the outcome of these inquiries in its next report.