Legal Challenges & Advocating for Reform
In December 2018 a workshop was held on Procedural Labour Law Reform, delivered by an employment law lecturer at the University of Costa Rica. As well as SITRAP representatives and SITRAP’s lawyer, a group of current law students also attended. SITRAP General Secretary, Didier Leiton, welcomed and celebrated engagement with the students and University as these will be the law-makers and defenders of the future.
SITRAP has also taken part in a number of private hearings at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MTSS) concerning the unfair dismissal and treatment of employees for reasons including: dismissal for breastfeeding, psychological aggression/bullying and abuse of authority directed at women employees.
Between the months of December 2018 and March 2019 SITRAP raised 15 cases of health-related or discrimination-based dismissal. Under the new law on labour procedural reform, for which SITRAP and other unions strongly advocated, 6 of those workers have since been reinstated. These success stories demonstrate the enormous impact of SITRAP’s advocacy work and the benefits of being able to work closely with their employment lawyer.
Strengthening Women’s Leadership
In the past year SITRAP have continued working to strengthen women’s leadership skills as part of work towards gender equity in the workplace. On March 10th, to mark International Women’s Day, SITRAP held a women’s workshop comprised of representatives from the grassroots executive committees, union members and executive committee discussing issues of health and safety at work. The women discussed the issues they face, the affect work has had on their health and the lack of response from their employers. The session highlighted the integral role the union can play in defending the rights of women and men workers with regard to occupational health and safety.
Women’s Officer Mireya Salas Rodriguez was invited by the Minister for the Status of Women, Patricia Mora Castellanos, to speak at the Costa Rican Labour and Social Security Ministry to raise the issues women workers face at work, including: no time allowed for breastfeeding, dismissal for pregnancy and sexual harassment. The Minister then came to a subsequent SITRAP workshop for women and discussed a proposal for an education project to strengthen women’s leadership for workers in the banana and pineapple industries.
SITRAP hope to continue their dialogue with the labour ministry to ensure the rights of women are respected across all workplaces and that employers stop viewing women workers as a ‘cost’ but recognise them as an asset to the workforce and to the business.