Transcript Slide 1

Workshop on Migrant Workers
OTTAWA, CANADA
MINISTRY OF LABOR AND SOCIAL SECURITY
LABOR MIGRATION IN COSTA RICA
Speaker:
M.Sc. Óscar Fco. Vargas Madrigal
Economist
Department of Labor Migration
COSTA RICA: GENERAL INFORMATION
Area: 51,100 Km.2
Population: 4,325,000
Capital: San José
GDP: 4.1%
GDP per capita: $4,526 (2%)
Exports: $7,038 millions
Inflation rate: 14%
Literacy: 96%
Life expectancy: 78
Costa Rica has 25% of its territory protected with national parks,
this makes it the country that has the largest proportion of natural
reserves protected according to its size
WHY IS COSTA RICA A RECEIVING COUNTRY?
A dynamic economy
Costa Rica’s economic growth from the recent years, has been an
attractive factor for labor immigrants, particularly for Nicaraguans,
Colombians and even citizens from countries located far away like
the People’s Republic of China.
Political and economic stability
Costa Rica has overcome economic crisis and political stability that
have affected many Latin American countries.
Countries that have traditionally been receiving countries, such as
Venezuela and Argentina, are sending countries today.
WHY IS COSTA RICA A RECEIVING COUNTRY?
Latin American Context: Political Stability, but not
economic
Democratization processes in Central American region,
but in Latin America as a whole, has diminished
migration flows of refugees and political asylum, except
for Colombia and Cuba.
Nonetheless, the impact from structural adjustment
and economic globalization policies have increased
unemployment rates and therefore economic
migration, particularly from least advantaged social
sectors.
THE IMPORTANCE OF MIGRATION IN COSTA RICA
In year 1984, the Population Census got that 88,945
people were registered as born abroad, this represented
3.7% of the total population.
Sixteen years later, the 2000 Census, it increased more
than 3 times, registering 296,461 people born abroad.
Like this, in year 2000, the population born abroad
represented 7.8% of the country’s total population, and
Nicaraguans, who represent 76% of foreign citizens,
represented 5.9% of the total population living in Costa
Rica.
DISTRIBUTION OF THE NICARAGUAN POPULATION
LIVING IN COSTA RICA
Greater
concentration in
six cantons.
Within the
Grand
Metropolitan
Area the highest
concentration is
in the four
districts of the
country’s
capital, San
Jose.
COSTA RICA: THE IMPORTANCE OF MIGRATION
According to the data gathered worldwide, Costa Rica
holds the world’s ninth position of countries with great
migrant population with respect to their national
population.
All countries in positions 1 to 8 are developed countries
or countries that own nonrenewable resources.
WHY IS COSTA RICA A RECEIVING COUNTRY FOR
MIGRANTS IN CENTRAL AMERICA?
Historically, Central American countries have had similarities,
coexisting with marked differences regarding economic and social
conditions.
For year 2000, 40% of the national product was concentrated in Costa
Rica and Panama. In 2005, 60% of Central American exports to
Europe were Costa Rican.
There is a similar situation regarding income per capita. Costa Rica
and Panama have incomes greater than the average in Central
America, which are $9.1 and %8.8 per day, while Nicaragua’s is
$1.25 and Honduras’ $1.80 per day.
Costa Rica receives migrants workers mostly from Nicaragua.
FOREIGN WORKERS LABOR FORCE DEMAND IN THE
PRINCIPAL AGRICULTURE ACTIVITIES IN COSTA RICA
2005-2006 HARVEST
______________________________________
PRODUCT
TOTAL FOREIGN
______________________________________
ORANGES
1,500
1,000
BANANAS
36,000
15,000
MELON
5,000
1,500
SUGAR CANE
3,000
2,400
COFFEE
81,000
46,000
BEANS (frijoles)
1,000
800
PINEAPPLE
3,000
500
______________________________________
TOTAL
130,500
67,200
(51%)
AVERAGE PRODUCTIVITY AND ACRES OF THE MAIN
AGRICULTURE PRODUCTS FROM COSTA RICA
CULTIVATED ACRES AND PRODUCTIVIY PER ACRE
HARVEST 2005-2006
___________________________________________________________
PRODUCT
ACRES
AVERAGE PRODUCTIVITY
___________________________________________________________
COFFEE
113,000
26 FANEGAS (20 BOXES)
CANE
52,600
70 TONS (1,000 KILOS)
BANANA
42,200
2,110 BOXES (90 UNITS)
PIÑEAPPLE
18,000
4,425 BOXES (26 POUNDS)
ORANGE
16,700
625 CAJAS (225 ORANGES)
BEANS (frijoles) 11,300
600 KILOS
MELON
6,460
1,300 BOXES (18 POUNDS)
___________________________________________________________
TOTAL
260,260
EVOLUTION OF NICARAGUAN MIGRATION
TO COSTA RICA
The greater international migration flow in Costa Rica is a
recent process: two thirds have arrived after 1990.
Migration rate by destination country and year
1974-2000
(thousands, for every 3 years)
There is a clear
decreased in
migration flows to
Costa Rica and
United States since
1997.
300
250
200
150
Does this represent
the end of
Nicaraguan massive
immigration?
100
50
0
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
Costa Rica
1988
1990
1992
1994
Estados Unidos
1996
1998
2000
WHY IS COSTA RICA A RECEIVING COUNTRY FOR
MIGRANTS IN CENTRAL AMERICA?
Costa Rica is the Central American country that
pays the highest minimum wage for all economic
activities, according to a report from the
Secretariat of the Economic Integration of
Central America (SIECA), 2003.
Data shows, for example, that a non-qualified
worker from the Costa Rican agricultural sector
earned $8.27 per day. Doing the same job in
Guatemala will yield a minimum salary of $4.04
per day, in El Salvador, $2.47, in Honduras
$2.79, in Nicaragua $1.34.
GENERAL LABOR INFORMATION OF AGRICULTURE
ACTIVITIES 2005-2006
MINIMUM WAGE ESTB. BY LAW: ¢4,719 (US$9.06)
(II SEMESTER 2006)
PRICE FOR THE BOX OF COFFEE:
GRANEA: ¢800 ($1.54)
MAXIMUM: ¢600 ($1.15)
REPELA: ¢600 ($1.15)
DAILY AVERAGE: 10 (¢5,000) ($9.60)
PRICE PER TON OF CUT CANE:
TO THE AL CONTRACTOR: ¢2,300 ($4.41)
TO THE WORKER: ¢1,570 ($3.01)
DAILY AVERAGE: 3.5 (¢5,495) ($10.55)
PRICE PER BOX OF ORANGES:
¢130 ($0.25)
DAILY AVERAGE: 36 (¢4,680) ($8.98)
REQUIREMENTS OF PAID WORKERS PER ACRES IN
PRODUCTION MAXIMUMS
COFFEE:
1.62
MELON:
0.75
BANANA:
0.64
PINEAPPLE:
0.30
CANE:
0.20
ORANGE:
0.19
BEANS:
0.06
POSSITIVE ASPECTS FOR COSTA RICA
Nicaraguan labor force has been an important element that
contributed to Costa Rica’s entrance to the international economy,
particularly in the exports sector of non-traditional products to third
market and in the construction sector for tourist developments.
Nonetheless, Costa Rica’s open unemployment rate changed from
4.6% in 1990 to 6.5% in 2005, which showed 7.5% for registered
migrants that have a residency identification card. This has worsen
the entry of migrant workers to Costa Rica’s labor market as well as
their labor stability.
Currently, there are approximately 430,000 migrants with a residency
identification card in Costa Rica, plus 125,000 that are living in the
country and that are not registered, adding up 555,000 foreign
citizens, which represents 13% of the country’s total population.
POSITIVE ASPECTS FOR NICARAGUA
In 2003, remittances flow from Costa Rica
increased to $132 million, which represents one
fifth of Nicaragua’s export income.
The majority of Nicaraguans working in Costa
Rica are not skilled workers and come from
marginalized urban areas and underdeveloped
agriculture zones.
Coming to Costa Rica
represents an economic relief for their families,
which stay in their country.
IMPORTANCE OF REMITTANCES IN COSTA RICA AND
NICARAGUA
Tabla II - 5. Etnoencuesta
s de migración: Población con experiencia
migratoria y características de las remesas según país de destino. 2000
- 2002
Población
con experiencia
que envía
migratoria
remesas
mediana de la
remesa mensual
Absolutos
porcentaje
en U$
450
17%
100
Estados Unidos
441
44%
200
Costarricenses con experiencia
migratoria en EEUU
213
20%
500
Nicaragüenses con experiencia
m igratoria en
Costa Rica
Fuente: CCP. Etnoencuestas de migración. 2000 - 2002
Nota. Com
unidades en la muestra: Nicaragua 9, Costa Rica 4.
-Nicaraguans send to their country from Costa Rica an average of US$100 and
US$200 from United States
- Costa Ricans send to their country from United States a monthly average of
US$500
IMPORTANCE OF REMITTANCES IN
CENTRAL AMERICA
Remittances
%
Total exports
Costa Rica
2641
211
8
El Salvador
2467
1580
64
Guatemala
2461
535
22
Honduras
1249
368
29
Nicaragua
523
345
66
Source: www.bid.org [tomado de Baumeister, 2001:49]
Even though the amount
of remittances is not large,
they still have an
important share in the
national economy.
It is important to clarify
that remittances
calculations are
estimates, and each
source has its own
methodology; thus, results
may vary.
NEGATIVE ASPECTS FOR NICARAGUA AND COSTA
RICA
In Costa Rica: increasing demand for social
services from the migrant population, which
mostly does not contribute to the social security
system, and the challenges regarding equity and
integration with Costa Rican society.
In Nicaragua: Lost of human capital
economically active and increasing family
disintegration.
IMPACT OF MIGRATION IN COSTA RICA’S
DEMOGRAFIC TRENDS
Costa Rica: estimaciones y proyecciones de población con
distintas hipótesis de migración
(en miles).
6000
5500
Población en miles
International
migration in
the future
might
increase
aprox. 2445%, which
represents the
natural
increase of
Costa Rica’s
population for
year 2025.
5000
4500
Media
4000
Sin mig. 90s
Mig.constante
3500
Mig. 0, 20013000
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
Años
2015
2020
2025
AGREEMENTS SIGNED : OBJECTIVES
We have signed with Nicaragua 6 agreements,
conventions and declarations from January 1993
to July 2006, and with Panama one declaration
on labor migration issues in April 2005. It is
remarkable that we have already made 5 binational meetings with Nicaragua, which have
had labor migration as one of the main topics.
SEASONAL WORKERS IN AGRICULTURAL AND AGROINDUSTRIAL ACTIVITIES
Legal norms allow migrant workers to stay in the country legally with a
certain firm and for a determined period of time within national territory.
This process begins when the firm send a form to the Ministry of Labor of
Costa Rica. The Ministry studies the case and approves or denies the
request. In case of approval, it is informed simultaneously to the firm, the
Department of Immigration and the Ministry of Labor of Nicaragua.
Once approved, workers can be hired:
- In Panama or Nicaragua, entering Costa Rica with a passport or safeconduct, in this case, it is not necessary to pay an entering visa.
- Or in Costa Rica, as long as they have a resident identification number,
refugee identity card or valid passport with tourist visa.
SEASONAL WORKERS IN AGRICULTURAL AND AGROINDUSTRIAL ACTIVITIES
In case that Nicaraguan labor force is required, the company needs
to present to the Ministry of Labor of Nicaragua an individual contract
with every worker that will be working in Costa Rican territory.
Once that this is approved, the Ministry of Labor of Nicaragua will
inform the Department of Immigration, who will issue the pertinent
travel document. Once that the Nicaraguan border is crossed the
Department of Immigration of Costa Rica verifies the list of people
that enters with the travel document. After this, the company will
deposit $20 to the Department of Immigration of Costa Rica for every
worker that enters Costa Rican territory.
The process of border registration is a thorny issue these days
mainly because is a period of intensive border transit that coincide
with the traveling of Nicaraguans to Nicaragua to celebrate
Christmas.
SEASONAL WORKERS IN AGRICULTURAL AND AGROINDUSTRIAL ACTIVITIES
Base on this problem, the Department of Immigration has a project in
the framework of the cooperation with Spain. The project consists in
preparing three 18 wheel semi trucks to work as mobile units of the
Department of Immigration. This project aims to process the
registration and stamps of the working permits in the workplaces;
thus the workers do not have to stop in the border, but will continue
to the assign camps where all the require process will take place.
Once in Costa Rica, the National Labor Inspection carry out periodic
inspections in the working places. This inspections aim to observe
the fulfillment of the minimal conditions stipulated in the labor law
and to verify the inhabitable conditions of the camps where the
seasonal workers live.
SEASONAL WORKERS IN AGRICULTURAL AND AGROINDUSTRIAL ACTIVITIES
Once that the legal stay in Costa Rica concludes, the Labor
Inspection checks and carry out if is necessary, estimations of the
year-end bonus and vacations of each worker. Subsequently, gives
the approval and inspects the payment at the border and the
payment of the last salary which is also paid at the border. This way
the company will have a certification of departure of each worker and
will recover the $20 deposit that was made for each worker.
Additionally, through the contract, the labor inspectors, legally advise
the alien workers about their labor rights and duties.
Even though, at present this function is carry out, it needs more
technical and financial resources to be optimize. It is expected that
the resources, especially the human and logistic resources will come
from the cooperation project with Spain.
TOTAL NUMBER OF PERMITS GRANTED 2005 - 2006:
9,000
OTHER MIGRATIONS IN COSTA RICA
There is an important quantity of indigenous people from Panama,
estimated in 2500, that work area of Limon, a province that borders
with Panama. They work harvesting bananas, and the government
has issued for them a “banana worker” ID for the region BribriSixaola. Another quantity of 9000 indigenous peoples from Panama,
travel to three cantons in the South of Costa Rica to gathered the
coffee harvest. This, usually is an migratory irregular stay.
The movements previously mentioned, usually occur for a
approximately period of eight months in part of the winter
(September-November) and during the whole Costa Rican summer
(December-April)
OTHER MIGRATIONS IN COSTA RICA
As a result of the political conflicts, approximately 40 000
Colombian migrants have mobilized to Costa Rica. About
15 000 are recognized as refugees, and due to their
importance, the Ministry created a Labor insertion service
in the Costa Rican the private sector.
Finally, there is a significant extra-territorial movement of
Costa Ricans, especially to United States and in less
amount to Canada. According to official data from the
United States around 72 000 of Costa Ricans live in the
states of California, Florida, New York, New Jersey and
Texas, where 50% of them are concentrated.
ZONES OF EMIGRATION OF COSTA RICANS TO THE
UNITED STATES AND CANADA
High
concentration
of the
emigration in
the center and
south of the
country
EVOLUTION OF COSTA RICAN MIGRATION TO
UNITED STATES
•
•
The Costa Ricans in
the United States
represent a 2% of the
total population of
Costa Rica. In the last
decade, they have
increased 65%.
Likewise, Nicaraguan
migrants in the United
States and Costa
Rica represent 13% of
the total population of
Nicaragua.
Costa Rica
Total population and emigrants in the United States of America
1970-2000
Costa Ricans in the United States
Year
National
Population 1/
Volume2/
Percentage of the total
Population of Costa
Rica
1970
1758042
16691
0.9
1980
2301984
29639
1.3
1990
3050556
43530
1.4
2000
3925331
71870
1.8
Sources: 1/ INEC/CCP,Proyection of the Population 1970-2100.
2/
U.S. Bureau. Population Census 1970-2000.
COOPERATION PROJECT WITH SPAIN
The first contacts with the Spanish
cooperation agency is currently taking
place, which has considered for both
countries a total amount of US$2.5
millions. From that amount, US$0.7
millions, equivalent to 30% will be for
Costa Rica
COOPERATION PROJECT WITH SPAIN

One of the main goals is to strengthened
technically and logistically the Ministries of Labor
or Costa Rica and Nicaragua, particularly, their
national employment services and their national
labor and inspection offices, in order to
guarantee the protection of labor rights of all
the workers, especially foreign workers.
COOPERATION PROJECT WITH SPAIN
Additionally, it includes among its objectives:
- To develop a methodology to estimate migrant population
periodically
- To evaluate periodically the labor market, and to do general
and specific technical research on supply and demand of
national and foreign labor force in different sectors of the
Costa Rican labor market.
COOPERATION PROJECT WITH SPAIN
To facilitate the dialogue on migration matters among
social interlocutors of both countries
To establish strategic programs of labor information and
orientation for employers and employees. The goal is to
prevent people from migrating without labor authorization
and without knowing their labor rights and duties.
To implement policies and programs to assist migrants
that are returning to their origin countries, once their
labor contract has concluded.
”IN CHURCH NOBODY IS FOREIG”

The message from Pope John Paul II in the
Migration Day in 2001 said: “Exercising the right
to enter another country must be regulated since
this can harm the common good of the
communities that receive emigrants (…) We must
have international norms capable of regulating
individual rights to prevent unilateral decision that
might harm the weak”. Nonetheless, controlling
immigration does not mean to forget the
fundamental principle that says “immigrants must
always be treated as human beings, with dignity”
(2003, page 84) unofficial translation.
To contact us:
Department of Labor Migrations
National Employment Direction
Ministry of Labor and Social Security
Telefax: (506) 221-1068
e-mail: [email protected]
Apartado Postal 10133–1000
San José, Costa Rica, CA
Thank you!
Costa Rica–Nicaragua Agreements
CONVENTION ON LABOR FORCE BETWEEN COSTA RICA AND NICARAGUA,
January 7, 1993, San José, Costa Rica.
AGREEMENTS THAT ALLOW MANAGEMENT OF LABOR MIGRATION FLOWS
AMONG OTHER COUNTRIES
October 25, 2002 Managua, Nicaragua
JOINT DECLARATION OF THE MINISTERS OF LABOR OF COSTA RICA AND NICARAGUA
April 16, 2004 Liberia, Guanacaste,
AGREEMENT REGARDING A BI-NATIONAL LABOR MIGRATION POLICY BETWEEN COSTA RICA
AND NICARAGUA
January 21, 2005, Granada, Nicaragua.
INTENTION LETTER FROM THE MINISTERS OF LABOR
September 28, 2006, Managua, Nicaragua
JOINT DECLARATION FROM PRESIDENTS PACHECHO AND BOLAÑOS
July 23, 2003, San José, Costa Rica el
V BI-NATIONAL COMMISSION MEETING COSTA RICA-NICARAGUA
October 19-20, 2006, San José, Costa Rica