Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2005, published 95th ILC session (2006)

The Committee notes the Government’s report and the information that it contains in reply to its previous comments.

Article 3, paragraph 1, of the Convention. Payment of wages in legal tender. The Committee notes the Bill to amend section 165 of the Labour Code (Act No. 2 of 27 August 1943). Under the terms of this Bill, in the coffee plantations where, during the harvest, it is the custom to provide workers with receipts for the work performed, employers will be obliged to indicate on these documents that they are not negotiable or transferable and to pay directly to the worker in legal tender the amount corresponding to the total value of these receipts within one week of them being issued. The Committee is of the opinion that such receipts by their nature continue to represent debt vouchers or promissory notes. It therefore requests the Government to explain how the rules set forth in the amended section 165(3) of the Labour Code would differ from those currently in force. Indeed, if the Government’s intention is effectively to impose the payment of wages in legal tender for all workers, the Committee wonders why the Government is not ready quite simply to repeal subsection 3 so as to eliminate specific rules applicable to workers in coffee plantations, thereby preventing the risk of abuse in their regard. While recalling that the Convention establishes an absolute prohibition on the payment of wages in the form of promissory notes or other forms alleged to represent legal tender, the Committee requests the Government to provide any relevant information on this subject in its next report.

Article 4, paragraph 2. Value attributed to allowances in kind. The Committee notes the Bill to amend section 166(3) of the Labour Code, under the terms of which: "For all legal effects and purposes, where the value of remuneration in kind has not been determined in each specific case, it shall be deemed to be equivalent to 50 per cent of the wage received by the worker in cash. In any case, the employer is under the obligation to ensure that allowances in kind are appropriate for the personal use and benefit of the worker and her or his family and that the value attributed to such allowances is fair and reasonable." The Committee notes that the second part of this amendment reproduces textually the provisions of clauses (a) and (b) of Article 4, paragraph 2, of the Convention. However, it notes that in its Bill, the Government has not removed the possibility of determining the value of allowances in kind at a flat rate (50 per cent of the wages paid in cash), on which the Committee commented previously. The Committee draws the Government’s attention to the fact that the maintenance of this rule would not ensure that section 166 of the Labour Code is in conformity with the Convention, despite the new obligation imposed on employers, as a flat-rate evaluation of allowances in kind runs the risk of being arbitrary and does not guarantee that the value attributed to such allowances is in all cases fair and reasonable. The Committee trusts that the Government will take the necessary measures as soon as possible to amend section 166 of the Labour Code to ensure that it is in full conformity with the Convention on this point.

Articles 8 and 12, paragraph 1. Deductions from wages and the regular payment of wages. The Committee refers to its previous comment, relating to the observations made by the Transport Workers’ Union of Costa Rica (SICOTRA) and the Confederation of Workers Rerum Novarum (CTRN) alleging abusive pay practices in the public transport and road transport sector, including unjustified wage reductions and the irregular payment of wages. Further to the information provided previously by the Government on the inspections carried out in three road transport enterprises, the Committee notes the Government’s indications in its last report that it is not currently in a position to provide the statistical data requested by the Committee concerning the total number of enterprises and workers employed in this sector. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing all available information on the measures adopted to ensure the enforcement of legal provisions respecting the protection of wages in the road transport sector and in other branches of economic activity in which pay irregularities have been reported or are suspected.