Occupational safety and health country profile: Costa Rica

International labour standards

  1. NORMLEX

    Ratification of ILO conventions

    Database on international labour standards

    Provides access to the latest information on ILO international labour standards on OSH (such as ratification information, reporting requirements, comments of the ILO's supervisory bodies, etc.).

Policies and programmes

  1. 2005

    Profile for Central America, Haiti, Panama and Dominican Republic

    in Spanish

    Challenges and proposals, inputs by the Employment Forum: Situation analysis

Laws and regulations

  1. LEGOSH

    National regulatory framework

    Global database on OSH legislation

    Provides a picture of the regulatory framework of the main elements of OSH legislation. Contains comprehensive legal information and analysis.

  2. NATLEX

    National legislation

    National labour legislation database

    Includes abstracts of OSH legislation and citation information. Full text of laws or a relevant source is linked to the records, when available.

  3. Main laws

    in Spanish

    The Constitution provides, in article 66, a duty upon employers to take all the necessary hygiene and security measures in the workplace.
    The General Regulations is the leading legislation. It aims to provide general and obligatory OSH conditions at all workplaces to protect the life, health, corporal integrity and the morality of workers.
    The Labour Code, reformed in 2011, under the Title IV about the protection of workers during the exercise of the work, completes the OSH norms.
    There are also many other regulations addressing specific hazards or risks (such as pesticides, noise and vibration, asbestos, ionising radiation, etc.)

Authorities and bodies

  1. Responsible authorities

    in Spanish

    The Labour Code requires an Occupational Health Committee to act as a technical body under the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.
    The Ministry is responsible for all labour and social welfare issues. In coordination with other agencies, it must monitor the implementation of laws, decrees and regulations related to labour relations between employers and workers. The Ministry, through the Department of Social Welfare, has an Occupational Security and Health Office which aims to improve the OSH working conditions in all workplaces and institutions, private or public.
    The functions of the Office are: maintain a general manual of industrial hygiene; research about occupational diseases; promote the formation of industrial safety Committees; support the Occupational Health Advisory Committee; attributions on pensions. 

Statistics

  1. Occupational injuries

    by economic activity

Information and advisory services

  1. Knowledge and research bodies

    ILO-CIS centre

    in Spanish

    Promoting training and research in OSH