Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131) - Costa Rica (Ratification: 1979)

Article 2(1) of the Convention. Differentiated minimum wage rates for young workers. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Apprenticeship Act No. 4903, which allows for remuneration for young persons to be fixed at a rate between 50 and 75 per cent of the minimum wage, is in the process of being revised. The Committee recalls that the Apprenticeship Act No. 4903 covers all young workers between 18 and 20 years of age, including those who are not covered by an apprenticeship contract and thus do not receive any training. The Committee accordingly hopes that, in the context of the ongoing revision of the Apprenticeship Act, the Government will review the practice of differentiated minimum wage rates for young workers so as to ensure that the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value is fully and effectively applied.

Article 3. Criteria for determining minimum wage levels. The Committee notes the Government’s explanations that the family basket of goods indicator is no longer used by the National Wages Council, which adopted in 2012 by consensus a new methodology for the annual readjustment of minimum wages based on two elements: (1) the expected inflation rate based on projections established by the Central Bank; and (2) the gross domestic product per capita. The Committee understands that the new methodology has been introduced on a trial basis and that its operation will be evaluated after three years. The Committee requests the Government to provide in future reports information on the practical application of the new methodology and the results of its eventual re-evaluation.