Workers' rights in Costa Rica

Solidarity with unions in Costa Rica

Speech at the ILO

9 June 2010

The TUC member of the Workers' Group of the ILO Governing Body, Sam Gurney, made these remarks at the ILO Committee on the Application of Standards this week:

I speak on behalf the British Trades Union Congress, many of my EU trade union colleagues and the AFL-CIO of the United States.

Costa Rica is rightly held up by many as an example in the region and beyond of a peaceful and successful democracy.

And whilst it is undoubtedly true that compared to some of its near neighbours, who after yesterday I will refrain from naming, but one also begins with a C and ends in an A, trade unionists are not at anything like the same level of direct physical threat

None the less there are clear indications of deeply worrying and insidious attempts to undermine free and independent trade unionism in Costa Rica. Which if allowed to continue unchecked may have ramifications far beyond Costa Rica itself.

As has been said repeatedly for almost two decades Costa Rica has been a regular feature in Committee of Expert reports and has been raised in this committee many times.

Multiple cases have been submitted concerning violations of freedom of association, there has been a high level mission and there have been technical missions.

As you have heard here today and read in the report repeated requests have been made for the Costa Rican government to supply more information about the action it is taking to:

• bring its law into compliance with core ILO conventions, in the case of this latest report with Convention 98;
• inform the ILO and others how the justice system is changing to speed up the processing of legal cases brought by trade unionists and workers for unfair dismissal; and
• demonstrate how policies such as the fostering of non-union 'direct agreements' and the so called `Solidarismo' system is not directly undermining real trade unions.

What is the reality on the ground? Well even in the ever diplomatic language of the Experts the report makes for bleak reading.

Despite promises made year after year and repeated here today the legislation to support freedom of association in both the private and public sectors appears in reality no closer, indeed the TU freedom Bill No. 13475 was thrown out in the last 6 months. To the best of our knowledge the detailed 'time schedule' requested repeatedly by the committee of experts has yet to materialise.

The government has given many reasons, the cynical - and I fear I am feeling cynical at this point - might say excuses as to the lack of progress:

• other legislation including the passing of trade bills has not allowed space;
• presidents and ministers have changed; and
• there has been a lack of technical support and much else besides.

Despite the fact that according to the report the government has said 'only collective bargaining has constitutional rank' we have seen much energy, in very stark contrast to that devoted to trying to adhere to conventions 87 and 98, given to supporting parallel alternative means to genuine worker organisation. In fact in April a regulation was passed giving Solidarismo structures the same status as real unions.

There are now only around 13 collective agreements in place whilst 74 so called 'direct agreements' have been established, union density may have been forced down to less than 3% whilst those covered by the 'solidarismo' system number over 300,000.

What is even more worrying is that since the report was published we have seen acts of direct intimidation occurring such as the occupation of union offices in Port Limon on May 26 by over 60 heavily armed police. Other examples have been described by my German colleague.

The TUC has written repeatedly to the Costa Rican Ambassador in London, but we have yet to receive any reply. Our unions are twinned with their sister organisations such as SINTRAP in the banana industry and talk regularly to their counterparts. Nothing we hear from these contacts makes us optimistic.

The Experts report concludes and I quote, 'bearing in mind the various ILO missions that had visited the country over the years and the seriousness of the problems, it expresses the hope that it will be in a position to note significant progress in the near future in both legislation and practice.' End quote.

Whilst the commitments made today by the minster are welcome, we have heard it all before.

Sadly without considerably more pressure and action by this body in line with the requests made by the workers spokesperson I fear we will be waiting until I have retired before our Costa Rican sisters and brothers get the rights they are entitled to.