Classes were cancelled in the public education system, the services in the public health centers were also affected and some roads were blocked, these were the results of the general strike organized by the labor unions this Monday to stand against the fiscal plan proposed by the Government.

The Government, following legal, procedures has requested to the Attorney General of the Republic present the Labor Courts a formal declaration of illegality for this strike. The request was also make directly to the Labor Courts by the Social Security Service (CCSS) and the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE), while the Costa Rican Oil Refinery (Recope) and the Atlantic Zone Development and Port Administration Group (JAPDEVA) were filing their petitions for illegality declaration this afternoon.

The Vice-Minister of Labor, Juan Alfaro, commented that “The labor process reform clearly establishes the procedure that must be followed before going on strike, and in this case, the established regulations were not followed”.

In Article 383 the Costa Rican Labor Law establishes: “The party or parties (employer or employers), affected by the strike can request, to the labor courts, the declaration of illegality of the movement, when the workers or their labor unions have not followed in the exercise of their right to strike, the previsions and requisites established in articles 371, 377 and 381 of this Code”.

A new meeting between Government representatives and representatives of the labor unions is scheduled for Friday, June 29.

“From the Executive branch, we are taking the necessary actions to have better tax collection, battle tax evasion and trafficking. We have adopted measure to contain the increase of public expenses cutting budgets without affecting any labor rights already acquired or any social program, but the commitment to Costa Rica must come from everyone”, stated Rodolfo Piza, Minister of Presidency, last week when he called on the union leaders to reconsider the strike.