The decision was made not to extend the decree that allows employers to regulate the immigration status of workers who come to Costa Rica to work in agricultural activities.
The decree concerned is No. 42406-MAG-MGP and establishes that employers in the agricultural sector may regularize the immigration status of foreigners who entered the country between January 15, 2016 and January 15, 2020.
The workers of the Panama Customs Precincts and the Colon Free Zone have suspended work since December 6th and could extend the strike for at least one more day.
The strike carried out by officials of the National Customs Authority (ANA) began on December 6th, claiming the payment of a Christmas bonus, salary adjustments and the permanence of temporary workers.
For the Nicaraguan coffee sector, the difficulty in obtaining workers has worsened, especially in areas such as Nueva Segovia and Matagalpa.
The coffee trade union affirms that in the 2016-2017 cycle approximately 200 thousand hundredweight were lost, and in what has occurred so far of the 2017-2018 harvest, part of the production has also been lost.Entrepreneurs in the sector argue that, in both cases, it is due to a lack of grain cutters.
The Ministry of Labor is preparing a bill to regulate how companies can carry out part-time hiring, starting in February 2018.
The draft law being prepared by the government will allow the establishment of conditions for part time jobs starting in February next year, when the 175th Labor Organization Convention,approved in January of this year, comes into force.
The ILO Convention approved through Congress establishes a legal framework for hiring part-time employees, based on the principles of proportionality.
The Congress of Guatemala approved Convention 175 of the International Labour Organization (ILO), which sets standards for part-time employment and is based on the principles of proportionality and non-discrimination.
For the sixth time since 2013 a six month extension has been granted to the suspension on the levying of fines on companies that hire undocumented foreign labor for activities such as agricultural harvesting.
The government announced that in January 2017 it issued a new extension to avoid levying fines on companies in the agricultural sector that employ undocumented foreign workers during the harvest season.
A new edict orders procedures which are very similar to the "melting pot" held under previous administrations, in order to regularize the status of undocumented immigrants.
An article on Prensa.com reports that "...Decrees 167 and 168 issued on June 3, 2016 by the Executive for general regularization and also for migrants from China, respectively, have generated a debate about its resemblance to Decree 547 of July 22, 2012, whereby migratory regularization fairs known as the Melting Pot were created during the administration of Ricardo Martinelli."
For the fifth time since 2013 fines for hiring foreign agricultural workers to harvest coffee and other agricultural products will be suspended.
The government has announced that in January 2016 it will declare a further extension to prevent the collection of fines from companies in the agricultural sector employing foreign labor for the harvesting season.
Businessmen are demanding that costs be reduced and the procedures required for immigrants to obtain temporary work permits be simplified.
The Chamber of Exporters of Costa Rica (Cadexco) has asked the General Department of Immigration and Foreign Services for migration processes to be improved and for a reduction in the cost of issuing permits, which currently "...
The office of the National Immigration Service at Penonomé, Cocle, will address the requirements of the inhabitants of the area, giving priority to employees of the mining company.
From resolution number 18972 by the National Immigration Service:
Resolved
FIRST: Created within the organizational structure of the National Immigration Service, a Special Office, located in the District of Penonomé, Cocle Province.
A number of changes were introduced to improve how migratory flows are managed, and decrease their pressure on the public health system.
Law 8764 of Migration and Foreign Citizens, in effect since March 1st, 2010, requires all foreign citizens residing in Costa Rica to be registered at the Costa Rican Social Insurance Institute (CCSS). This measure would add 150.000 contributors to the social security system.
The government created the temporary resident subcategory by decree for the Panama Canal expansion projects.
The proposed new temporary resident category means that "parents, spouses and children under 18 and up to 25 years old, as long as they are studying on a regular basis, may be claimed as a dependents if they are economically dependent on the temporary resident," according to what was published in the Prensa.com website.
The idea of establishing a temporary worker program between the two countries was raised by the Foreign Minister of El Salvador.
The Minister, Marisol Argueta de Barillas, who has been in Qatar since Sunday, proposed these initiatives to the Qatari Emir in Office, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani.
Elsalvador.com published: "The Salvadoran official arrived in Qatar on Sunday for an official visit.