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Aguinaldo Around the Corner
Today, is payday in Costa Rica,
the last payday before the "aguinaldo"
begins to fill the pockets of
workers in all sectors, that
will go towards Christmas gifts,
remodeling the home or as a down
payment for a new car.
The Aguinaldo is the Christmas
bonus that is paid to all
employees - public or private -
that equals to one months
salary. This year the Aguinaldo
is expected to top ¢245 billion
colones (us$475 million
dollars), of which ¢98 billion
will be paid to public sector
employees and the rest to the
private sector.
Employers are required to pay
the Aguinaldo between December 1
and December 20 as the last date
before an employee can make a
complaint to the Ministerio de
Trabajo (ministry of labour),
according to Ley 2412 that was
passed on October 23, 1959.
However, the majority of
employers pay the Aguinaldo
early, in the first week of
December. The government will be
paying the annual bonus on
December 6, as most other
businesses following the
government in their annual
payment.
The announcement of the date is
important not only for the
employees but also for the
Ministerio de Seguridad which
has to co-ordinate resources to
offer more security on the
streets, as most Costa Ricans
tend to spend the Aguinaldo
rather than save it. José Salas,
a director of human resources
for the Caja Costarricense de
Seguro Social, suggests that
Costa Ricans should invest the
Aguinaldo, but is realistic that
they don't.
For that reason, the minister of
security, Fernando Berrocal,
said that within the coming
weeks he will announce publicly
a security plan for employers
and employees on how to handle
the large sums of money that
will be on the streets in the
first weeks of the new month.
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