By Wendy Anders

Within two months a new mechanism for insuring domestic workers will be ready to be implemented, stated Gustavo Picado, finance manager of the Costa Rican Social Security Bureau (CCSS), the country’s public health service agency.

Speaking to Monumental Radio last week, bureau officials said they aimed to increase coverage of this vulnerable group. Only 14 percent of Costa Rica’s domestic workers are properly insured.

Representing over 170,000 workers, 94 percent of whom are women and 40 percent of whom are single mothers, the lack of coverage means many will not receive sufficient retirement contributions in order to receive a state retirement pension.

The CCSS board asked the finance department to draft a coverage plan for domestic workers in consultation with the Labor Ministry, the Treasury Department, the National Women’s Institute, the Costa Rican Association of Domestic Workers, and the International Labor Organization (ILO).

Picado said an online registration process will be set-up to make it easier for domestic workers to enroll in the insurance plan, and the CCSS is encouraging other state agencies such as the Labor Ministry and the National Technical Institute, to work to support this vulnerable subset of the labor force by offering training and professional development.

Because many domestic workers frequently change employer, the CCSS will set up a tracking system so workers don’t lose coverage each time they change households, said official sources.

Marked by high poverty rates, 3/4 of the country’s domestic workers work in the Central Valley, most have several employers at the same time, almost 3/4 work part-time, and only 1/3 receive any benefits, stated the CCSS in a press statement.