VZCZCXYZ0011
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSJ #0055/01 0291612
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 291612Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY SAN JOSE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0449
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
INFO RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 0330
RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SAN JOSE 000055 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR WHA/CEN, DRL/ILCSR TDANG, AND PLEASE PASS TO DEPT OF LABOR 
ILAB TMCCARTER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PGOV PHUM SOCI KTIP CS
SUBJECT: COSTA RICA: 2008 WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR REPORT 
 
REF:  A. 08 STATE 127448 
      ¶B. 07 SAN JOSE 2041 
      ¶C. 08 SAN JOSE 911 
 ¶D. 08 SAN JOSE 519 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1. The following is the 2008 worst forms of child labor report for 
Costa Rica in response to Ref A; it updates our 2007 report, Ref B. 
Answers are keyed to Ref A, and source documents will be emailed to 
DOL/ILAB TMcCarter per same.  The Government of Costa Rica is 
committed to eliminate the worst forms of child labor from the 
country by 2010.  Child labor is most prevalent in rural, informal 
agricultural sectors, especially among migrant populations.  Male 
working children and adolescents join the labor force in larger 
numbers than do females.  The government institution in charge of 
the fight against child labor is the Ministry of Labor's (MTSS') 
Office for the Eradication of Child Labor and Protection of the 
Adolescent Worker (OATIA).  This office helps coordinate policy and 
actions taken by other agencies such as the Ministry of Education, 
the National Child Welfare Agency (PANI) and the Ministry of Housing 
(MIVAH) to combat child labor.  The government continued the 
"Avancemos" education subsidy program, which was implemented in 
¶2006. 
 
¶2. The Sixth Report on the State of the Rights of Children and 
Adolescents in Costa Rica (EDNA), researched and written by the 
public University of Costa Rica (UCR) in conjunction with UNICEF and 
published in 2008, presents the latest available statistics on the 
GOCR's fight against child labor.  It notes significant progress in 
the ten years since the government implemented the Children and 
Adolescents Code (CNA), and it presents an updated profile of 
working adolescents ages 15-17.  The International Labor 
Organization's International Program for the Eradication of Child 
Labor (OIT-IPEC) plays a major role in designing, funding, and 
directing anti-child labor projects in Costa Rica.  END SUMMARY. 
 
----------------------------------- 
¶A. CHILD LABOR LAWS AND REGULATIONS 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶3. PROVISIONS: Costa Rica has enacted a comprehensive set of child 
labor laws, including definitions of the worst forms of child labor 
and the minimum age for employment.  Among these laws, the Children 
and Adolescents Code (CNA, Law No. 7739), promulgated in 1998, 
establishes special protection for adolescent workers.  Without 
exception, children under 15 years of age are prohibited from 
working (Article 92 of CNA), while adolescents 15 to 17 years of age 
may work  no more than 6 hours per day and 36 hours per week 
(Articles 78, 80, 95 and 103 of CNA).  Article 79 guarantees a 
minimum salary for workers age 15-17.  The CNA also establishes the 
right to work-related health insurance, training, time to study, 
notification and just cause for firing, and more.  Article 84 
extends protection to those who work in family businesses.  The 
country does not have a military. 
 
¶4. HAZARDOUS WORK: Article 94 of the CNA describes, in general 
terms, the types of jobs that are prohibited for adolescent workers 
(ages 15-17).  Those under 15 are not permitted to work, and only 
adults 18 and over may work in jobs that are considered hazardous. 
Executive Order No. 29220-MTSS, which took effect in 2001, augments 
the list of hazardous jobs.  OATIA states that with this directive, 
Costa Rica complies fully with the International Labor 
Organization's Convention 182 on eradicating the worst forms of 
child labor. 
 
¶5. HAZARDOUS WORK LEGISLATION: Legislation (Bill 15.929) to bring 
Costa Rican law in agreement with Article 3(d) of Convention 182 by 
establishing a list of hazardous jobs is still pending in the 
National Assembly's Committee on Children and Adolescence.  This 
legislation would codify the list in law instead of having it exist 
under executive order only.  The ILO noted that enacting this 
legislation has not been a priority for the National Assembly; the 
bill has been pending since 2005.  However, the National Assembly is 
notoriously slow to act on most legislation due to complex, arcane 
rules of order, and its highly-diffuse political structure.  (There 
are four major parties, three minor parties and three independent 
members in the 57-seat, unicameral legislature.) 
 
¶6. WORST FORMS: According to the ILO (OIT, Spanish acronym), two 
reforms to the Penal Code brought worst forms of child labor and 
penalties into conformity with ILO Convention 182.  Law 7899 of 
August 1999 codified many crimes of commercial sexual exploitation 
for the first time and enhanced protection for victims of already 
existing crimes.  Law 8590 of August 2007 further strengthened 
protection for minors under the Penal Code in regard to rape, sexual 
abuse, pornography, and more.  Prison sentences range from 6 months 
to 10 years for crimes ranging from possessing/producing 
pornography, sex with minors, corruption, pimping, and trafficking 
in persons (including sexual servitude and forced labor).  (For a 
chart of penalties, see OIT-IPEC response, to be sent via email.) 
 
-------------- 
¶B. ENFORCEMENT 
-------------- 
 
¶7. REMEDIES: Legal remedies available to enforce child labor laws 
are established in the CNA (civil fines, Article 101) and the Labor 
and Criminal Codes (labor and criminal penalties and court orders). 
The Ministry of Labor and the court system are available to provide 
enforcement and remedies. 
 
¶8. INTEGRAL ATTENTION TO VICTIMS: With assistance from ILO, in 
September 2008, the government released the Intra-institutional 
Directive for Immediate Attention for Minor Workers.  This directive 
sets forth procedures that divisions of the Labor Ministry must 
follow upon detecting a case of child or adolescent labor that 
requires attention.  In addition, the Protocol for 
Inter-institutional Coordination for the Immediate Attention of 
Minor Workers established coordination procedures among different 
entities with responsibilities related to child and adolescent 
labor. 
 
¶9. GOVERNMENT RESOURCES: OATIA reported that the Labor Ministry 
spent USD $496,000 on child and adolescent labor between 2002 and 
2007, in administrative overhead including salaries, transportation, 
per diem and office supplies.  The amount budgeted for 2008 was USD 
$12,000 for the same.  OATIA noted that the drop was due to 
receiving a nearly-offseting amount of international aid for child 
labor programs for the period from 2002-2007.  Also, for 2008, the 
government budgeted USD $75.3 million specifically for the 
"Avancemos" cash transfer program to discourage child labor and to 
promote staying in school (see para 14 below).  OATIA employs nine 
child labor specialists.  OIT-IPEC reported that in 2007 the 
government had 89 officials dedicated to investigating commercial 
sexual exploitation: 39 Justice Department officials and 50 police 
officers.  OATIA carries out diagnostic research on different 
sectors and/or regions.  The MTSS website includes a link to OATIA 
with information about child labor and a link to file a complaint. 
 
 
¶10. GOVERNMENT INVESTIGATIONS: OATIA noted that while child labor 
laws are adequate, lack of human resources impeded better 
enforcement coverage.  The Ministry of Labor investigates cases 
immediately and has 10 days to resolve a case.  At the end of 2007, 
OATIA implemented an electronic data base to track cases and to 
compile statistics in the San Jose area; the agency intended to 
expand the use of the database to other offices, but has not yet 
been able to do so due to technical issues.  There are currently 90 
labor inspectors; though none are dedicated solely to child labor 
investigations, all 90 have received child-labor-awareness training. 
 
 
¶11. INVESTIGATION STATISTICS: 2008 child labor investigation 
statistics will be available from MTSS' National Labor Inspectorate 
in February, and Post will forward septel when/if received.  Post's 
last report (Ref B) contained investigation statistics from 2006. 
In 2007, inspectors conducted 97 investigations of labor cases 
involving minors.  Sixty-three percent of these were conducted in 
the central region of the country (San Jose, Heredia and Cartago 
provinces).  Of the 97 cases, 43 percent involved children working 
in commerce, 20 percent in the service sector, 14 percent in the 
industrial sector, 10 percent in agriculture, 9 percent in 
construction, and 3 percent in transportation.  Sixty-four percent 
of the investigations were related to male workers, and 33 percent 
to females.  Of the 67 cases resolved in 2007, OATIA reported that 3 
cases (4 percent) involved "child labor;" 60 cases (90 percent) 
involved illegal dismissals; the remaining 4 cases (6 percent) 
involved workers rights and firing procedures. 
 
¶12. COMPLAINTS RECEIVED: During 2008, OATIA received 450 complaints. 
 Fifty-seven of those complaints involved children under 15 years of 
age.  In comparison, during the first six months of 2007 (the only 
data thus far available for that year, see Post's 2007 Child Labor 
Report, Ref B), OATIA received 401 complaints from children and 
adolescents, with 60 under 15 years old.  Given that the number of 
total complaints for 2008 was only 12 percent more the number of 
complaints filed within the first six months of 2007, it appears 
that the number of overall complaints dropped in 2008.  Post will 
forward complete 2007 statistics on number of complaints septel, 
if/when received. 
 
¶13. TRAINING ON WORST FORMS: From April to November 2008, the 
government trained or sensitized 547 police officers, immigration 
officials, immigration police officers, OIJ officers, and national 
health system workers about trafficking in persons.  Additionally, 
UNICEF trained 50 community 
police officers and police academy instructors following a "train 
the trainer" approach.  For a complete update on the GOCR's 
anti-trafficking efforts since the 2008 TIP Report, see Ref C. 
Please see also Post's response to DOL's request for information 
regarding child and forced labor in the production of goods (Ref 
D). 
 
----------------------------- 
¶C. SOCIAL PREVENTION PROGRAMS 
----------------------------- 
 
¶14. "AVANCEMOS" ("LET'S GET AHEAD"):  This conditional cash transfer 
(CCT) program continues as the linchpin of the GOCR's anti-desertion 
and anti-child labor efforts and was explained in more detail in Ref 
¶B.  The program provides a progressive subsidy to encourage 
extremely poor students to remain in school (vice dropping out to 
work) or to return to school, thus helping to reduce the number of 
children and adolescents who enter the workforce every year. 
"Avancemos" explicitly addresses child labor as one of its main 
objectives, together with poverty reduction and strengthening 
education.  Through 2008, two government agencies - The National 
Fund for Scholarships (FONABE) and the Institute of Social 
Assistance (IMAS) - were in charge of implementing the program under 
an interagency team headed by MIVAH.  Due to problems with 
interagency coordination and duplication as well as an unrelated 
corruption scandal involving the previous Minister of Housing 
(MIVAH), IMAS assumed sole responsibility for managing Avancemos as 
of January 2009. 
 
¶15. AVANCEMOS BENEFICIARIES: As of October 21, 2008, Avancemos had 
130,586 beneficiaries enrolled in the program - an increase of 
almost 36,000 students over 2007, due to the program's popularity 
since beginning as a pilot project in 2006 (Ref B).   Participants 
were split relatively equally by gender with 69,800 females and 
60,786 males.  The total included: 35,070 students age 14 and under; 
63,301 students ages 15-17; 24,285 students ages 18-20; and 7,930 
students age 21 and over.  Thus, 75.4 percent of subsidies reached 
youth age 17 and under.  Approximately 42 percent of the 
beneficiaries were considered rural and 58 percent urban.  Projected 
funding for the program for 2008, according a November 2007 MIVAH 
report, was USD $75.3 million (approximately 39.2 billion CR 
colones); the high level of funding was due to the fact that this 
project was a cornerstone of President Arias' social initiatives. 
According to a media reports, for 2009 the government budgeted 55.2 
billion CR colones (approximately USD $100.4 million at USD $1:550 
colones) to serve 150,000 students. 
 
¶16. OATIA PROGRAMS: In 2008, OATIA continued seven projects (Ref B) 
geared toward improving life and work conditions of indigenous and 
migrant groups, eradicating child labor, and protecting at-risk 
children and adolescents.  OATIA expanded a vocational training 
program for teenagers who had worked previously in dangerous jobs in 
the Caribbean and northern regions.  The seven programs and their 
beneficiaries for 2008 were: 
 
a) "Defense and Human Rights Promotion to Improve Living and Working 
Conditions for Indigenous Ngobe, Nicaraguan and Local Migrant 
Families in Coffee Harvest Seasons";  Location: Zona de los Santos; 
Persons served: approximately 11,000, including children and 
adolescents;  Agencies involved: OATIA, National Commission for 
Indigenous Affairs (CONAI), and other government institutions. 
 
b) "Action Project to Sensitize, Train, and Mobilize the 
Municipalities of Canas, Santa Cruz, and Carrillo regarding 
Eradication of Child Labor and Protection of the Adolescent Worker"; 
 Location: Guanacaste province;  Persons served: directly benefitted 
children, adolescents, their parents and municipal officials in 
those areas, but no number of beneficiaries provided;  Agencies 
involved: OATIA and Vision Mundial. 
 
c) "Primero Aprendo": see para 18. 
 
d) "Project for the Detection, Protection and Reduction of Minor 
Workers Identified by Local Government Censuses, according to 
Article 96 of the CNA";  Locations: 11 municipalities, including 
Desamparados, Curridabat, Escazu, Heredia, Belen, Alajuela, Moravia, 
Liberia, Carrillo, Canas, Santa Cruz;  Persons served: children and 
adolescents;  Agency involved: OATIA. 
 
e) "Improving Living Conditions for Child and Adolescent Workers and 
their Families in the Atlantic Huetar Region"; Location: Limon; 
Persons served: 100 rural child and adolescent workers;  Agencies 
involved:  OATIA, MEP, PANI, Social Security Agency (for worker 
insurance and national health, Caja Costarricense de Seguridad 
Social, CCSS), and MTSS' DNI (inspectors). 
 
f) "Human Development Promotion, Child Labor Eradication, and 
Protection for the Adolescent Worker in the Rural Communities of 
Mora and Puriscal for Sugar Cane Production Free from Child Labor, 
among the Association of Organic Cane Producers";  Location: Mora 
and Puriscal;  Persons served: children, adolescents and their 
parents, for a total of 12,807 people;  Agencies involved: OATIA, 
Ministry of Agriculture and ASOPRODULCE sugar cane producers 
association. 
 
g) "Integrated Vocational, Educational and Human Development 
Training for Rural Adolescent Workers to Eliminate Dangerous 
Adolescent Labor in the North Huetar Region"; this program provided 
basic education along with vocational training in agriculture, 
tourism and other fields;  Location: San Carlos, Los Chiles and 
Upala;  Persons served: 70 adolescents between 14-17 years old who 
had worked in dangerous jobs, were not in school, and came from 
low-income families - for a total of 350 served including their 
families;  Agencies involved:  OATIA, ILO/OIT, the National 
Institute of Learning (INA), FUNDECOCA, PANI, CCSS, and others. 
 
¶17. MINISTRY OF EDUCATION PROGRAMS: The Ministry of Education (MEP) 
operates programs that allow adolescents to harmonize work and 
study.  "Aula Abierta" (Open Classroom) is directed toward 6,121 
students who did not finish primary school.  "Nuevas Oportunidades 
para Jsvenes" (New Opportunities for Youth) is a secondary-level 
program that provides tutoring two times a week to 14,648 students 
in 2008.  Finally, a GED program allows students to complete their 
high school education.  Funding levels for 2008 had been requested 
but were not available from MEP as of this writing.  Post will 
forward if/when those figures are received. 
 
¶18. "PRIMERO APRENDO" (FIRST, I LEARN): Under the auspices of the 
International Child Labor Program/Education Initiative from 
DOL/ILAB, in association with Care-USA and implemented locally by 
Caritas, this regional program established several projects to 
protect at-risk children from exploitive work.  This program 
officially concluded in August 2008, but Costa Rica was granted an 
extension until March 31, 2009, with no additional funding. 
"Primero Aprendo" served 526 children in Costa Rica with a four-year 
budget of USD $576,198.  Of that amount, 2008 funding for Costa Rica 
was USD $177,020, serving 175 children, according to OATIA. 
 
¶19. WORKING WITH UNIONS: The Central Movement of Costa Rican Workers 
(CMTC) continued its program, entitled "SOLETICO" to educate against 
child labor.  "Horizonte Cero", a documentary produced in 2006, is 
still shown as a tool to discourage child labor (Ref B). 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
¶D. COMPREHENSIVE POLICY TO ELIMINATE CHILD LABOR 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶20. "NATIONAL PLAN OF ACTION" REMAINS IN EFFECT: In 2005, the GOCR 
initiated the Second National Plan of Action for the Prevention and 
Eradication of Child Labor and Special Protection for Adolescent 
workers (SNPA).  This plan called for the elimination of child labor 
by 2010 and specific financing targets which required relevant 
government ministries and agencies to earmark sufficient funds in 
their annual budget requests.  The Arias administration (which 
entered office in May 2006 and will serve until May 2010) updated 
the SNPA to incorporate new policies and priorities, especially in 
Chapter 4 which deals with the program's goals, objectives, and 
responsibilities.  The revised SNPA was published in January 2009. 
This update has allowed the GOCR to proceed with a full-scale 
educational subsidy program to address some of the major causes of 
child labor (the "Avancemos" project, see para 14 above). 
 
¶21. CHILD LABOR AS PART OF POVERTY REDUCTION: The Arias 
administration incorporated Avancemos as one of the main priorities 
of its "National Plan for Development" under strategies for the 
"Fight against Poverty."  The government thereby identified child 
labor  as a specific issue to be addressed in poverty reduction 
efforts. 
 
¶22. EDUCATION POLICY: By law, education is free and compulsory until 
the 11th year (which is the 5th year of bachillerato or high 
school).  The EDNA report referred to in para 2 above, however, 
noted a marked difference in the quality of purely private and 
charter-type schools (private schools that receive government funds 
for teacher salaries and administrative personnel) over purely 
public schools.  The report also called for strengthening rural 
school systems. 
 
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¶E. PROGRESS 
----------- 
 
¶23. INEC 2002 STUDY: The National Institute of Statistics (INEC) 
2002 Survey on Child and Adolescent Labor remains the current, 
official, and most comprehensive source of child labor statistics 
(Ref B).  It stated that 113,523 children between the ages of 5-17 
worked at that time nation-wide (representing 10.2 percent out of a 
population of 1,113,987 children and adolescents).  Of this working 
child population, 72.7 percent were boys (82,512) and girls (31,011) 
5-17 years old.  A total of 54,259 boys and girls were employed on a 
regular basis, meaning full time job year round.  Although OATIA has 
pushed for a new survey, INEC is not planning another, ostensibly 
due to lack of funding.  (The ILO funded the 2002 study). 
 
¶24. NEWER FINDINGS: However, the 2008 INEC Household Survey included 
a few, limited questions about child labor (see 2008 "Encuesta de 
Hogares de Propssitos Mltiples" via email).  Additionally, the 
UNICEF-UCR "EDNA" Report refers to statistics through 2006 drawn 
from:  the "Monitoring System for the State of Youth in Costa Rica, 
1990-2006" based on annual INEC Household Surveys, and the "First 
National Youth Survey of 2007."  (See EDNA report, Chapter 5, via 
email.) 
 
¶25. INEC 2008 HOUSEHOLD SURVEY: According to Chart 3, page 33-34 of 
the 2008 INEC Household Survey, out of a total population of 
3,631,597 inhabitants (based on 2000 Census figures, adjusted), 
538,939 were youth ages 12-17.  Out of that youth population, 57,204 
were considered part of the active labor force, with 47,094 
currently employed (less than nine percent of youth ages 12-17 were 
working).  Note that because the base population figures differ from 
the INEC 2002 study, and the 2002 study also included statistics for 
children ages 5-11, one should use caution when comparing the 
results from these two sources. 
 
¶26. EDNA SHOWS PROGRESS: The UNICEF-UCR Sixth Report on the State of 
the Rights of Children and Adolescents in Costa Rica (EDNA) 
undertook to measure progress in the fight against child labor 10 
years after the 1998 implementation of the CNA,  using statistics 
through 2006.  Chapter Five is dedicated to "Education and Work." 
The report cites principal causes of child labor in the country as: 
poverty, difficulty in providing education and retaining students, 
and a cultural pattern that views work as a source of values and as 
preparation for life.  According to EDNA, the labor market shows net 
declines across the board for child and adolescent labor, ages 12-17 
- for males and females, and rural and urban youth - since 
implementation of the CNA.  (See EDNA for charts and figures, via 
email.) 
 
¶27. ANALYSIS OF WORKING YOUTH AGES 15-17: EDNA utilized statistics 
from the 2007 "First National Youth Survey" to establish an updated 
profile of workers ages 15-17, adolescents above the legal minimum 
age to work.  According to this source, 18 percent of youth ages 
15-17 worked based on a population of 274,743 in that age group. The 
total number of workers ages 15-17 was 49,352 - broken out between 
36,837 males and 12,525 females; 27,742 rural and 21,610 urban.  The 
profile includes analysis by both occupational group and by type of 
activity. 
 
¶28. AGES 15-17 BY OCCUPATION: According to figures reported in EDNA 
from the 2007 First National Youth Survey, by occupational group, 
29.1 percent worked in the category of direct services to other 
people; 23.4 percent in miscellaneous jobs including gardeners, 
janitors, domestic employees, transport dispatchers, car washers, 
etc.; 12.7 percent in agriculture and fisheries; 11 percent in 
artisan production, construction, mechanics and graphic arts - a 
group that includes handicrafts, carpentry, shoemaking, furniture 
and upholstering, bricklaying and electrical work, etc.; 9 percent 
were machinery operators or equipment maintenance workers; 6.4 
percent worked in administrative support positions; 6 percent in 
general professional or technical jobs; 1.1 percent in professional, 
scientific or intellectual work; and 1.1 percent did not respond or 
did not know. 
 
¶29. AGES 15-17 BY ACTIVITY: When analyzed by type of activity, 21.5 
percent worked in miscellaneous activities (not well defined or not 
in another classification, usually in family businesses or cases 
where the work was not performed in a specified place); 20.7 percent 
in "real estate, private business, and rental" which included such 
activities as working in real estate offices, for attorneys, or in 
print shops; 15.9 percent in hotels and restaurants; 12.5 percent in 
a category called "commerce, vehicle repair and appliance repair"; 
9.8 percent in the ILO-standardized category called "agriculture, 
fisheries and hunting" which included cultivation of flowers and 
houseplants, working on farms, and in dairies and fisheries; 6.1 
percent worked in industrial manufacturing; 3.8 percent worked in 
construction; 2.3 percent in transportation, warehousing and 
communications; and 7.6 percent did not respond or did not know. 
 
¶30. REMUNERATION FOR YOUTH 15-17: According to the same source, 76.3 
percent of working youth ages 15-17 earned wages; 16.9 percent 
worked for themselves; and only 4.1 percent worked for a relative 
without remuneration; 1.5 percent were paid in-kind; and 1.1 percent 
stated that they owned their own business.  While ENDA reports that 
the minimum monthly wage for these youth should be 125,000 CR 
colones per month (approximately USD $227 per month at USD $1:550 CR 
colones), 60.2 percent earned less than 100,000 CR colones per 
month; 19.1 percent earned between 100,000 and 150,000 CR colones 
per month; 14 percent earned from 151,000 to 200,000 CR colones per 
month; 3 percent earned from 201,000 to 250,000 CR colones per 
month; 2.6 earned 251,000 CR colones and up; and 1.3 percent did not 
respond or did not know. 
 
¶31. HOURS WORKED FOR YOUTH 15-17: As for hours worked per week, 31.4 
percent worked less than 20; 18.1 percent worked 20-35; 15.1 percent 
worked 36-46 (which would be a violation of the CNA, which limits 
weekly hours to 36); 17.7 percent worked 48 hours per week; 6 
percent worked 50-60; 6.1 percent worked more than 60 hours; and 5.7 
percent did not respond or did not know. 
 
¶32. WORK VS. SCHOOL FOR YOUTH 15-17: Still from the same source 
(EDNA), 24.2 percent of those not in school did not study because 
they had no interest in school; 13.7 percent of youth ages 15-17 did 
not study because they had to work; 13.2 percent had trouble 
"accessing the educational system" (though not explicitly explained 
in EDNA, this was probably due to distance, lack of transportation 
or rural schools, school overcrowding or similar issues); 7.5 
percent could not pay costs associated with studying; 7.3 percent 
said school was difficult; 7.1 percent lived with a spouse or 
partner; 4.7 percent preferred to work rather than study; 4.6 
percent dropped out due to pregnancy; 4.4 percent had finished their 
studies; and 1.9 percent were ill or incapacitated.  One percent 
could not study due to having to help with housework. The percentage 
that did not study for other reasons was 8.3 percent, and 1.9 
percent did not respond or did not know. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
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¶33. The government is committed to the topic of child labor and is 
taking steps to end it.  The picture of child labor is not/not bleak 
in Costa Rica, especially as compared to other countries.  Recent 
figures show that less than nine percent of youth ages 12-17 work, 
and of that figure, those 15-17 can work legally.  However, when 
analyzing factors such as remuneration, hours worked per week, and 
the fact that almost 15 percent of those ages 15-17 have to work 
instead of study (including the one percent who had to help with 
housework), there is still room for improvement.  Costa Rica should 
focus additional efforts on ensuring that labor codes are followed 
to protect adolescents ages 15-17 who are working legally but are 
being exploited in terms of low wages and long hours. 
 
¶34. On a related note, we recently visited a coffee plantation in 
the Poas area outside of San Jose and observed first-hand the "child 
labor" on coffee farms.  While more serious problems may indeed 
exist, the eight-year-old boy we interviewed was spending his time 
running through the rows and around the plants, empty sack in hand, 
laughing and playing with his brother - hardly the type of hard, 
grueling, physical labor one imagines during the coffee harvest. 
Officials from the INCAE Business School's Center for Sustainable 
Market Research told us that most child labor on coffee farms in 
Costa Rica involves children who seek to earn money for their school 
supplies during their summer vacation (harvest season) by collecting 
coffee cherries dropped by other pickers.  According to the same 
officials, when migrant children work on farms with their parents, 
they often perform the same tasks of picking up after other 
harvesters, instead of the much harder work of picking coffee from 
the plants. 
 
CIANCHETTE