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>>Costa Rica News Digest<<
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TODAY'S CONTENTS
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*News Digest

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FEATURE ARTICLE
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DISCUSSION
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NEWS DIGEST
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*Aguinaldo Is A Must! Ministerio de Trabajo Opens Hotline For Employee

Complaints

The first two weeks in December are a retailer's paradise in Costa Rica, as

the "Aguinaldo" - the annual bonus paid to all public and private sector

salaried employees - hits the streets and is usually spent for Christmas

holiday shopping season.

All private and public sector salaried employees are entitled to be paid

between the 1st adn 15th of December, for simplicity, the equivalent of one

month's salary. All government employees got theirs on December 6.

The Ministerio de Trabajo (Ministry of Labour) has a formula that applies to

calculating the Aguinaldo and varies between public and private sector

employees how it is calculated, though the end result is basically the same.

An employee's salary for the last twelve months of work up to and including

November 30 is summed up and divided by 12. The result is the Aguinaldo

payment.

The Ministerio de Trabajo has set up a special toll free number (800 872

2256) to help employees in verifying that their Aguinaldo amount is correct

and also to help those whose employers refuse or aren't in a financial

position to pay the Aguinaldo.

In the last 9 days, 1.366 telephone calls have been received at the Ministry,

officials say.

Most of the calls are from 'domésticas' - maids - that are working on a full

time basis one or more per week, where employers feel they are entitled to be

paid the annual bonus, though they have been working for most the year for

the same person.

The Ministerio de Trabajo officials say that all salaries employees must be

paid the Aguinaldo which is set out in law, and private sector employers,

though it is custom to pay it no later than December 15, actually have until

December 20 to pay or face an employee making a charge against them.

An employer who refuses to pay the Aguinaldo can be charged and will face a

fine in addition to paying the Aguinaldo, which the Ministerio de Trabajo

takes seriously.


*Foreign Labour

The number of foreign workers present in the Costa Rican labor market is

growing steadily.

According to a survey, some 168,000 foreigners have jobs in this country,

representing 10.2 percent of the employed.

According to analysts, the figure falls short from what it is likely to be,

since it does not include those who hold a job for six months or less, and

neither does it include aliens illegally working here.

December, immigration officials see an increased volume of traffic of

Nicaraguans heading home for the holidays, but a bigger influx of Nicaraguans

returning, as many bring along a friend or two, full of hope and a job that

they cannot get in their country.

Most enter Costa Rica illegally, avoiding the various check points set up

along the northern region to detect illegals.

While Nicaraguans make up the largest of the illegal labour force, though no

officials numbers are available, a large number of Colombians, enter Costa

Rica legally and then overstay their visitor's visa and enter the foreign

labour workforce.



*Fishing Agreement

Several Central American and Panama institutions signed an agreement aimed at

improving training and technical assistance for commercial fishermen

throughout the region.

One of the main goals of the agreement is taking advantage of the existing

databases and satellite records to provide accurate information to fishermen,

so that they can improve their performance.

Corruption Mars Democracy
Most Costa Ricans believe in democracy and in political parties, but they are

not satisfied with the way in which they operate in this country.

These are part of the findings of a recent survey by the Social Studies on

Population Institute (IDESPO in Spanish) of the state Universidad Nacional.

According to the poll, eight out of every 10 of the respondents believe in

democracy as the best political system for development, and seven out of

every 10 believe that political parties are necessary; however, a similar

percentage assert that they are little or not satisfied with the way in which

parties perform in Costa Rica.

The ones with the latter opinion blame "corrupt politicians" for their

dissatisfaction. In fact, when asked on their trust on politicians, a full

nine out of 10 said they have little or no confidence on them.



*Jaguar Resorts Continues its Evaluation of Establishing a New Resort

During the past two weeks, Jaguar Resorts, Inc. executives have continued due

diligence and evaluations to establish a new Jaguar Resort and Spa in

Guanacaste.

A few weeks ago the company's President, Mr. William J. Gallagher, held

meetings in Mexico City with potential joint venture partners for a

Guanacaste Costa Rica Project.

In addition the company's Vice President, Mr. Benjamin Gallagher, is

currently in Costa Rica and continues to conduct due diligence for the

company to be in position to take advantage of the current substantial

interest high-end travelers have in Costa Rica; especially on the Pacific

Coast.

Mr Gallagher has stated, "The Four Seasons has recently opened a five-star

hotel in our area of interest and other well-known, high-end hotel chains are

considering moving into this region. We intend to be one of the important

players here in Costa Rica. There are not enough high-end accommodations to

satisfy the current travel velocity that is directed towards Costa Rica for

2005."

Recently, Jaguar Resorts received a letter of intent from a super-luxury

resort chain - in combination with a successful marketing organization - to

participate in the joint venture with Jaguar Resorts developing a

condominium-hotel and fractional residence club in the State of Guanacaste,

near Papagayo.


*The gift that keeps giving and giving

Do you want to give very cheap Christmas presents that last for years?

Well, two animal adoption centers are hoping their temporary boarders will be

home for Christmas, their new home. So they are holding an adoption fair

Saturday and Sunday at the Outlet Mall in San Pedro.

The event runs both days from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The centers providing the dogs

are the Centro de Adopciones de Dulce Nombre de Coronado and Casa de

Adopciones in Guadalupe.

The mall is across Avenida Principal from the San Pedro church.



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