The University of Costa Rica (UCR) has stated that its decision to pay retroactive annual bonuses for the year 2020 to its employees is in accordance with the law.
On Tuesday, La Nación reported that the UCR’s University Council approved the distribution of ¢7.873 billion among workers as a retroactive payment. This decision was made despite warnings from the Office of the Comptroller General (CGR) to Rector Carlos Araya Leandro that such payments would be against legal regulations.
According to UCR, the annual bonus being paid corresponds specifically to 2020 and should have been disbursed in January of that year. The university emphasized that this period predates Law 9908, which was enacted during the pandemic to freeze annual bonuses for 2021 and 2022.
“It is not about annual bonuses for the periods 2020-2021 and 2021-2022, established in Law No. 9908, approved in October 2020,” states the official communication from UCR.
The University Council agreed to allocate funds “to address salary commitments arising from non-payment of annual bonuses in 2020, which will also be recognized retroactively for the years 2021 and 2022.”
The rector’s office reiterated that UCR did not make any payments contrary to what is stipulated by Law 9908.
“The payment made responds to labor rights generated before the restrictions established by this legislation came into effect,” they added.
UCR also noted that other public universities had already paid their respective annual bonuses for 2020 based on their collective agreements or internal regulations valid at that time.
Regarding a note sent by CGR to the National University (UNA), UCR argued it does not affect their decision. “It is a response issued regarding a specific inquiry made by that institution (UNA),” said UCR. Twenty days before UCR’s agreement, CGR reminded UNA’s rector—and copied Araya Leandro and other university rectors—that there had been no changes to the law freezing annual bonuses following UNA’s inquiry.
“No budget item related to payment of annual bonuses was rejected,” UCR added.
“Annual bonuses corresponding to periods 2020-2021, 2021-2022, and later will be recognized according to current legislation, not under previously contemplated conditions in the Collective Labor Agreement,” they stated further.
UCR affirmed its commitment “to strict compliance with current legal frameworks and proper management of public resources.”
