Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Costa Rica

Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, 1919 (No. 1) (Ratification: 1982)
Weekly Rest (Industry) Convention, 1921 (No. 14) (Ratification: 1984)
Weekly Rest (Commerce and Offices) Convention, 1957 (No. 106) (Ratification: 1959)

Previous comment on Convention No. 1Previous comment on Convention No. 14Previous comment on Convention No. 106

In order to provide a comprehensive view of the issues relating to the application of the ratified Conventions on working time, the Committee considers it appropriate to examine Conventions Nos 1 (hours of work in industry), 14 (weekly rest in industry) and 106 (weekly rest in commerce and offices) together.

The Committee notes the observations submitted jointly by the Confederation of Workers Rerum Novarum (CTRN), the Costa Rican Workers' Movement Central (CMTC), the General Confederation of Workers (CGT) and the Workers' Unitary Confederation (CUT) and the Costa Rican Trade Union and Social Unity Bloc (BUSSCO), on Convention No. 1, received on 21 August 2022. The Committee also notes the observations of the Costa Rican Federation of Chambers and Associations of Private Enterprise (UCCAEP) on Conventions Nos 1, 14 and 106 submitted together with the Government's report.

Legislative developments. The Committee notes that, in their observations, the CTRN, CMTC, CGT, CUT and BUSSCO indicate that the Legislative Assembly is currently debating the draft Bill No. 21182 on the amendment of sections 136, 142 and 144 and the addition of sections 145 bis and 145 ter of the Labour Code, to update the exceptional periods of work and safeguard the rights of workers. The workers' organizations claim that the draft Bill, among other things: (i) fixes mandatory 12-hour days, which would affect the balance between work, rest and family life; (ii) eliminates the guarantee of pay for overtime; and (iii) incorporates annualized working hours into work that is seasonal, temporary or a continuous process, which would make workers’ periods of work more intense.

The Committee notes that, in December 2021, the Office provided technical assistance regarding the Bill, at the request of the Permanent Committee on Fiscal Affairs of the Legislative Assembly. The Committee trusts that the Act to be adopted on working time will be in full conformity with the provisions of the Convention and requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in the process of adopting the draft Bill. The Committee recalls that the Government may avail itself of ILO technical assistance if it so wishes.

Hours of work

Articles 3 and 6(1)(b) and (2) of the Convention. Temporary exceptions. Circumstances and limits to additional hours. Pay. Bus drivers. Regarding the circumstances in which recourse to overtime is authorized (sections 139 and 140 of the Labour Code), the Committee observes that: (1) neither section 139 nor section 140 of the Labour Code fixes in a precise and exhaustive manner the circumstances in which recourse to overtime is authorized; and (2) section 139(2) provides for unpaid overtime under one circumstance (errors committed by the employee) which is not covered by the Convention. The Committee recalls that the Convention only allows exceptions to the limits on periods of work in case of accident, actual or threatened, or in case of urgent work to be done to machinery or plant, or in case of "force majeure” or to deal with exceptional cases of pressure of work.

Further to its previous comments on bus drivers, the Committee notes the Government's indication in its report that: (i) according to the information provided by the National Labour Inspectorate of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, 64 infringements of normal hours of work and 107 infringements related to overtime were identified in the road transport sector in general between 2015 and 2021; (ii) with regard to bus companies, during the same period, 309 cases of infringements of all kinds were detected; (iii) as a result of the actions carried out by the National Labour Inspectorate, 257 cases were resolved at the administrative level, 9 cases were resolved at the judicial level, 34 cases are being processed at the judicial level and 9 cases are being processed at the administrative level; in addition, in 191 cases the labour inspectorate's warnings were complied with, while in 42 cases they were not complied with. In this regard, the Committee also notes that in their joint observations, the CTRN, CMTC, CGT, CUT and BUSSCO indicate that: (i) while the regular period of work for bus drivers is eight hours a day, in most bus companies, drivers negotiate 12 hours a day or more with their employers; (ii) in some bus companies, drivers are required to perform tasks related to vehicle maintenance and the management of the money collected, outside their regular period of work, for which they are not paid; and (iii) during an inspection of a road transport company, in response to a number of complaints of labour exploitation, it was found that drivers’ period of work exceeded 12 hours a day, reaching up to 19 hours a day in some cases; it was also found that the company did not pay overtime. In this regard, the Committee notes the UCCAEP's indication that: (i) since the adoption of Act No. 7679 of 1997 repealing section 146 of the Labour Code, the activity of bus drivers has been adjusted to a period of work of eight hours a day; (ii) the cases of infringements detected by the labour inspectorate have been resolved at administrative or judicial level, or are still in process, and therefore there is no evidence of a widespread practice of infringement of periods of work and overtime pay; and (iii) the problem of a lack of bus drivers results in the use of overtime to ensure continuity in the public service.

In this regard, recalling the impact that long hours can have on workers' health and work-private life balance, the Committee refers to the 2018 General Survey concerning working-time instruments, paragraphs 119 and 151.

Consequently, the Committee requests the Government to continue taking the necessary measures, including by revising these provisions of the Labour Code and monitoring compliance with the legislation in force, to ensure that both in law and in practice: (i) recourse to overtime is limited to clear and well-defined circumstances; (ii) reasonable legal limits on overtime are established and enforced; and (iii) such hours are effectively paid, in accordance with the provisions of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to provide information in this respect, including statistics on labour inspection activities related to hours of work and rest in the road transport sector, including violations found and penalties assessed.

Weekly rest

Articles 4 and 5 of Convention No. 14 and Articles 7 and 8 of Convention No. 106. Permanent or temporary exemptions to weekly rest –Compensatory rest. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government's indication in its reports that no amendments have been made to section 152(3) of the Labour Code, which provides that work shall be permitted on the weekly rest day, by agreement between the parties, in the case of work which is not arduous, unhealthy or hazardous, and which is carried out in agricultural or livestock breeding grounds, industrial undertakings which require continuity of work owing to the nature of the needs which they satisfy or for obvious public or social interest. The Committee also notes that section 152(5) of the Labour Code provides that in the case of activities of obvious public or social interest and where the worker does not agree to work on rest days, the employer may apply to the Ministry of Labour for authorization to grant rest periods on a cumulative monthly basis, and the Ministry may grant or refuse the authorization requested. The Committee observes that: (i) section 152(5) of the Labour Code does not guarantee the granting of compensatory rest in case of work on the weekly rest day, as the Ministry of Labour may refuse the requested authorization; and (ii) for other activities set out in section 152(3) of the Labour Code, no compensatory rest is provided for. Consequently, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures, including by amending this section of the Labour Code, to ensure that, in the case of exemptions from the principle of weekly rest, all workers are entitled in respect of each period of seven days to compensatory rest of a total duration comprising not less than 24 hours, regardless of any monetary compensation. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information in this regard.