Aguinaldo Is A Must!
Ministerio de Trabajo Opens
Hotline For Employee Complaints
The first two weeks in December
are a retailer's paradise in
Costa Rica, as the "Aguinaldo" -
the annual bonus paid to all
public and private sector
salaried employees - hits the
streets and is usually spent for
Christmas holiday shopping
season.
All private and public sector
salaried employees are entitled
to be paid between the 1st adn
15th of December, for
simplicity, the equivalent of
one month's salary. All
government employees got theirs
on December 6.
The Ministerio de Trabajo
(Ministry of Labour) has a
formula that applies to
calculating the Aguinaldo and
varies between public and
private sector employees how it
is calculated, though the end
result is basically the same. An
employee's salary for the last
twelve months of work up to and
including November 30 is summed
up and divided by 12. The result
is the Aguinaldo payment.
The Ministerio de Trabajo has
set up a special toll free
number (800 872 2256) to help
employees in verifying that
their Aguinaldo amount is
correct and also to help those
whose employers refuse or aren't
in a financial position to pay
the Aguinaldo.
In the last 9 days, 1.366
telephone calls have been
received at the Ministry,
officials say.
Most of the calls are from 'domésticas'
- maids - that are working on a
full time basis one or more per
week, where employers feel they
are entitled to be paid the
annual bonus, though they have
been working for most the year
for the same person.
The Ministerio de Trabajo
officials say that all salaries
employees must be paid the
Aguinaldo which is set out in
law, and private sector
employers, though it is custom
to pay it no later than December
15, actually have until December
20 to pay or face an employee
making a charge against them.
An employer who refuses to pay
the Aguinaldo can be charged and
will face a fine in addition to
paying the Aguinaldo, which the
Ministerio de Trabajo takes
seriously.
Foreign Labour
The number of foreign workers
present in the Costa Rican labor
market is growing steadily.
According to a survey, some
168,000 foreigners have jobs in
this country, representing 10.2
percent of the employed.
According to analysts, the
figure falls short from what it
is likely to be, since it does
not include those who hold a job
for six months or less, and
neither does it include aliens
illegally working here.
December, immigration officials
see an increased volume of
traffic of Nicaraguans heading
home for the holidays, but a
bigger influx of Nicaraguans
returning, as many bring along a
friend or two, full of hope and
a job that they cannot get in
their country.
Most enter Costa Rica illegally,
avoiding the various check
points set up along the northern
region to detect illegals.
While Nicaraguans make up the
largest of the illegal labour
force, though no officials
numbers are available, a large
number of Colombians,
enter Costa Rica legally and
then overstay their visitor's
visa and enter the foreign
labour workforce.
Fishing Agreement
Several Central American and
Panama institutions signed an
agreement aimed at improving
training and technical
assistance for commercial
fishermen throughout the region.
One of the main goals of the
agreement is taking advantage of
the existing databases and
satellite records to provide
accurate information to
fishermen, so that they can
improve their performance.
Corruption Mars Democracy
Most Costa Ricans believe in
democracy and in political
parties, but they are not
satisfied with the way in which
they operate in this country.
These are part of the findings
of a recent survey by the Social
Studies on Population Institute
(IDESPO in Spanish) of the state
Universidad Nacional.
According to the poll, eight out
of every 10 of the respondents
believe in democracy as the best
political system for
development, and seven out of
every 10 believe that political
parties are necessary; however,
a similar percentage assert that
they are little or not satisfied
with the way in which parties
perform in Costa Rica.
The ones with the latter opinion
blame "corrupt politicians" for
their dissatisfaction. In fact,
when asked on their trust on
politicians, a full nine out of
10 said they have little or no
confidence on them.
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Court
Annuls Gold Mining Concession
Costa Rica's highest court has
annulled a $70 million
concession allowing a local
subsidiary of a Canadian company
to dig for gold near the border
with Nicaragua, authorities said
Thursday.
In a ruling dated Nov. 26,
Constitutional Court judges
upheld an injunction filed by
environmentalists in 2002 that
sought to block the mining
project on the grounds it
violated the Central American
Biodiversity agreement as well
as this country's constitutional
rules on the environment.
The affected company, Industrias
Infinito, is the Costa Rican
affiliate of Calgary-based
Vannessa Ventures Ltd.
According to court filings,
Industrias Infinito estimated a
completed open-air mine at Las
Crucitas, 110 miles (175
kilometers), north of the
capital, San José, could one day
uncover as much as 600,000
ounces of gold worth about
US$435 million.
In news release posted on its
Web site, Industrias Infinito
insisted its project would not
harm the environment.
"The only explanation for this
decision can be an error or an
incorrect interpretation" of the
law, it said.
The Costa Rican Federation for
Environmental Conservation
issued its own statement
declaring the court's decision a
victory.
Jaguar Resorts Continues its
Evaluation of Establishing a New
Resort
During the past two weeks,
Jaguar Resorts, Inc. executives
have continued due diligence and
evaluations to establish a new
Jaguar Resort and Spa in
Guanacaste.
A few weeks ago the company's
President, Mr. William J.
Gallagher, held meetings in
Mexico City with potential joint
venture partners for a
Guanacaste Costa Rica Project.
In addition the company's Vice
President, Mr. Benjamin
Gallagher, is currently in Costa
Rica and continues to conduct
due diligence for the company to
be in position to take advantage
of the current substantial
interest high-end travelers have
in Costa Rica; especially on the
Pacific Coast.
Mr Gallagher has stated, "The
Four Seasons has recently opened
a five-star hotel in our area of
interest and other well-known,
high-end hotel chains are
considering moving into this
region. We intend to be one of
the important players here in
Costa Rica. There are not enough
high-end accommodations to
satisfy the current travel
velocity that is directed
towards Costa Rica for 2005."
Recently, Jaguar Resorts
received a letter of intent from
a super-luxury resort chain - in
combination with a successful
marketing organization - to
participate in the joint venture
with Jaguar Resorts developing a
condominium-hotel and fractional
residence club in the State of
Guanacaste, near Papagayo.
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