Social Guarantees

Social Guarantees were a series of progressive political reforms made in Costa Rica in the 1940s for the benefit of the working classes. They came about as a result of the alliance between various political and religious figures.[1] Though a widespreads effort, there were three main leaders:

The reforms were diverse and varied, but are typified by three signature project:

  • Creation of the Costa Rican Social Security Fund, a government-funded, private company that universalized healthcare. The Savings Bank required all employers to insure their workers and make a corresponding payment to the worker-employer's quota. This allowed the employee, as well as the employee's spouse and immediate ascending and descending family, to receive healthcare by half of the services of the Fund. All minors under the age of 18 who were resident in the country, without distinction of nationality, were automatically insured by the state. Uninsured persons (unemployed, for example) also received the services of the Caja (short for Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social, the Spanish name for the company) on credit, generally at a lower cost than existing private medical services.[2][3] Most key elements of this signature project are still in place as of 2023.[4]
  • Creation of the University of Costa Rica, which provides higher education to Costa Ricans which reconstituted and expanded upon the University of Santo Tomás which was closed by an anti-clerical government in 1888. The UCR has been ranked as the best university in Central America and as one of the best in the world.[5]
  • Promulgation of the Labor Code, a labor law that covered all workers in Costa Rica. The Labor Code set forth workers' rights that were unique in Latin America at the time, including the minimum wage, eight-hour workday, holidays, vacations, social charges, Aguinaldo (compulsory Christmas bonus), double payment of salary to work on holidays, the right to strike and severance payments in case of being dismissed without justification, as well as the specific reasons for which an employee can be dismissed without severance pay. Many elements of this pioneering law remain in force.[6]

These reforms were included in a specific chapter of the Political Constitution.[7]

  1. ^ "Las Garantías Sociales – El Espíritu del 48". elespiritudel48.org. 11 March 2015.
  2. ^ "Caja Costarricense del Seguro Social (Costa Rican Social Security Fund)" (PDF). www.ts.ucr.ac.cr. Escuela Trabajo Social Universidad De Costa Rica Cendeisss (School of Social Work, University of Costa Rica Cendeisss). 1994. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  3. ^ "Reseña histórica de la Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social – El Espíritu del 48". elespiritudel48.org. El Espíritu del 48. 11 March 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  4. ^ "Understanding the Costa Rican Healthcare System". International Citizens Insurance. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  5. ^ http://www.nacion.com/2012-08-07/ElPais/UCR-sube-118-puestos-en-ranquin-mundial.aspx. Archived 2013-02-22 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "Costa Rica Employment Laws". Global People Strategist. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  7. ^ "Campaña Regional contra la Flexibilidad Laboral". Archived from the original on 2008-09-20. Retrieved 2019-03-24.