With an estimated 195,000 labour migrants living in Costa Rica, the
IOM training provided to Ministry of Labour inspectors  in
Costa Rica this week is focusing on the vulnerability of irregular
migrants and the need to ensure their human rights are protected.

The two-day training sessions, being held in regions with large
migrant populations, are providing field-based labour inspectors
with the information and awareness on the difficult situations
faced by migrants, especially their vulnerability to labour
exploitation and human trafficking.

Sofía Salas, IOM Project Coordinator explains: "The
training emphasizes the important role that labour inspectors play
in ensuring that migrants' rights are not being violated. 
Their work is also vital in detection, prevention and penalties
against employers involved in labour exploitation and human
trafficking."

According to official figures provided by the General Migration
Directorate, more than 374,000 foreigners are currently residing in
Costa Rica.  Almost 50 per cent, or 195,000 are formally
employed, but this number does not include the considerable number
of irregular migrants who enter the country in search of work.

Although the number of migrants arriving in the country has been
steadily decreasing since 2000, Costa Rica remains a popular
country of destination for labour migrants from Nicaragua, the
United States, Colombia, China and the Dominican Republic.

Government figures indicate that 36 per cent of the foreign
labour force is employed in the construction and hospitality
sectors; the rest work in agriculture, manufacturing and retail
sales.

"The type of work, sometimes the remoteness of the locations,
the fact that many of these jobs are temporary with inadequate
regulations in the workplace, contributes to abuse and exploitation
of migrant workers," adds Salas.

The training sessions are part of an IOM project, funded by
Government of Canada, aimed at building the capacity to manage
labour migration in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Panama and the
Dominican Republic. At least 40 inspectors are expected to be
trained in each country with a total minimum of 160 inspectors in
all four countries.

For more information, please contact:

Sofía Salas

IOM Costa Rica

Tel: +506 22215348, Ext. 243

E-mail: "mailto:ssalas@iom.int">ssalas@iom.int