The different labor unions in Costa Rica rejected the “preliminary proposal” they had negotiated with the Government between Friday and Saturday, the meeting that was scheduled between the parties for this Sunday at 3 p.m. was cancelled and instead the leaders of the movement held a press conference where they confirmed they will continue with the indefinite strike until the Government eliminates ...

The U.S.Embassy in Managua Nicaragua urges American citizens living or visiting Nicaragua to stay informed of scheduled demonstrations, which many times are also subject to change with little or no notice. The U.S. Embassy constantly provides information on these activities through their website and social media channels with the idea that citizens take all necessary precautions. These are so...

Even though part of the agreement between the Costa Rican Government and the labor union leaders included to keep the details of the negotiation confidential until this Sunday at 3 p.m. when an official announcement was made on whether the labor unions accepted the agreement or not, the document was filtered on Saturday evening. According to this document, if the labor unions agree, which appar...

Photo Credit: Guana/Noticias An American tourist drowned this Friday, September 28 in Playa Prieta near Flamingo, Guanacaste. The victim, with last name Ramsey was 51-years-old and was dragged out onto the beach by the Costa Rican Red Cross, paramedics proceeded to practice CPR but unfortunately the man did not respond. The circumstances surrounding the accident are still unclear. This...

The VIII Call for the financing of projects with funds of the First Debt-for-Nature swap between the United States and Costa Rica, invites non-governmental and community organizations to present proposals of projects for the conservation of forests to opt for donation funds. Debt-for-nature swaps are financial transactions in which a portion of a developing nation’s foreign debt (in this case ...

According to a press release sent by the Costa Rican Construction Chamber, the labor unions’ strike that has been going on for the last three weeks, have caused that five construction companies have had to let go close to 300 workers. The fact that there has been a shortage or raw material for the production of asphalt that is used in the works of roads in the country is leaving many workers wi...

The Costa Rican Government and representatives of the labor unions concluded the eighth and final meeting of their “preliminary dialogue” that began at 2 p.m. on Friday and ended at 4:50 a.m. this Saturday, during the press conference following the meeting priest Edwin Aguiluz, acting as mediator, explained that a “preliminary text” had been reached which now the leaders of the labor unions will p...

AC Hotels by Marriott officially opened doors September 24 in Avenida Escazu, Costa Rica; 9 thousand square meters (over 96 thousand square feet) of construction in the heart of one of the most exclusive areas in San Jose, Costa Rica. The hotel offers 122 rooms, 4 suites, 5 ballrooms, in addition to restaurants, bar, beautiful lobby, AC lounge, and fitness center. Ideal for business or pleasur...

A man originating from Mexico was apprehended by officials of the Drug Control Police (PCD) of the Ministry of Public Security, carrying $27,100.00 in cash that had not been reported. This detention took place at the Juan Santamaria Airport in Alajuela, when the man tried to come into Costa Rica carrying the money in a manila folder inside a briefcase. The man is 51 years-old and of last nam...

The labor union strike affecting the state refinery (RECOPE) was declared illegal by the Labor Court which resolved that it did not comply with the requirements stated in the labor code that movements must be peaceful, the alternatives of conciliation must be exhausted, and it must have the support of a minimum percentage of employees. The sentence was dictated by Judge Alexander Contreras Barr...

The Labor Court of the II Judiciary Circuit of San Jose declared the labor union’s strike at the Costa Rican Institute of Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (IAFA) legal. This is the first of 9 sentences that have been issued that considers the movement to meet all legal requirements. The sentence was given by Judge Angela Keiko Minero Akiya, who stated that “in conformity with the disposition of a...

The Institute of Pacific Ports in Costa Rica (INCOP) confirmed they received a proposal from the Costa Rican consortium CEPP Consultants to license the port of Quepos to transform it into a destination port for cruise ships. Executive President of JAPDEVA, Juan Ramón Rivera confirmed that the proposal involves an investment of close to $50 million dollars and would completely transform the port...

Fins Attached a Marine Reasearch and Conservation organization, announced a recent successful scientific expedition, two adult tiger sharks, four hammerhead sharks, one silky shark, one manta ray, and one whale shark were tagged with acoustic transmitters in Cocos Island National Park, Costa Rica. The movements of animals tagged with acoustic tags are tracked by acoustic receivers, or listening st...

The employees on strike working for the Atlantic Zone Development and Port Administration Group (JAPDEVA) has been deemed illegal, determined Judge Francisco Vargas Ramirez who considered that the services offered by JAPDEVA are essential and that the conciliation alternatives were not exhausted. “Paralyzing the services offered by the Limon and Moin ports, implies the suspension of an essentia...

This Thursday the director of the San Juan de Dios Hospital in San Jose, Doctor Ileana Balmaceda, denounced the actions of the labor union that took over surgery rooms preventing oncology patients from getting programmed surgeries. According to Balmaceda, members of the labor union were upset because the hospital arranged to get assistance from surgeons and professionals from the Puriscal clini...

While in 2012, the number of teenage pregnancies represented 19.4%, on 2017 this indicator went down to 14.7% , the lowest percentage ever registered in the country. According to doctor Nineth Alarcón from the Comprehensive Care Program for Teens of the Social Security Service (C.C.S.S.) this is a very satisfactory achievement resulting from the efforts carried out to bring down the number of...

The labor union strike has been declared illegal so far for six different institutions; today the resolutions regarding the legality of the strikes for the Central Bank and the Social Protection Board (JPS - Institution that handles the lottery in Costa Rica) were made public. The Labor Court of the First Judicial Circuit of San Jose, declared illegal the movement promoted by the National Assoc...

Taxi drivers joined the general strike today and are protesting by doing “tortuguismo”, basically driving slow enough so as to cause congestion in different sectors of the country, causing many transit problems, mainly in the General Cañas highway (Alajuela-San Jose). Messages of angry drivers are flooding social media channels complaining against the red cabs and their practice, which is affec...

The labor unions gathered since 10 a.m. this morning in La Sabana and started their march towards the legislative assembly as planned; currently the Central Avenue in San Jose and 42nd Street as well as the Second Avenue are completely closed for this reason; the tension between the strikers and the Government continues to raise as traffic police has run operations the morning of this Wednesday, a...

Investigations and surveillance processes by the Costa Rican Judiciary Investigative Police (Regional Office of OIJ Limon), concluded with the interception of a truck loaded with 330 kilograms of cocaine originating from Colombia. The drugs were hidden in a container that was supposedly carrying ceramic tiles and packed in black backpacks. OIJ had been alerted by international police of the ...

The Ministry of Treasury and the Central Bank of Costa Rica resorted to treasury bills to finance expenses such as salaries, pensions, social programs and debts this as a result of the impossibility to place bonds. This is an emergency measure used to face the critical financial moment the country is facing and gain time while the fiscal reform is approved by the Legislative Assembly; this fina...

The Labor Court of the First Judicial Circuit of San Jose declared the strike promoted by the National Association of Public Employees (ANEP) in the National Emergency Commission (CNE) illegal. The sentence 1549-2018 was dictated by Judge Javier Camacho Duarte considering that the minimum requirements for a legitimate strike were not met and in addition to this, the National Emergency Commissio...

The Costa Rican Government affimrs that participation of employees of the Social Security Service (CCSS) in strike went down by 49%, going from 10,426 absent employees on September 10 to 5,325 this Monday, September 24. According to the detailed report, after the first week, the decrease was of 37% and after the second week it reduced another 17% in relation to the prior week. The employees ...

Costa Rican biologist Esteban Brenes, Director of Science and Conservation of the Costa Rica Wildlife Foundation and coordinator of the project Nai Conservation for the protection of tapirs was awarded the "UNESCO's Man and Biosphere Programme Young Scientist Award" (MAB Young Scientists Award). This award provides young researches funding to support their research on ecosystems, natural resour...

60 Hours of dialogue throughout 5 days have proven insufficient for representatives of the Costa Rican Government and the Labor Unions to come to an agreement. At 11 p.m. this Monday, September 24, during a press conference, the Ministers of Labor, Justice and Planning expressed their frustration after eight hours of dialogue, “we regret to inform that there has not been any advance in the nego...

According to information by the Quick Response Team of the Technical Secretariat of the National Coalition against Illicit Immigrant Traffic and Human Trafficking (CONATT), between 2010 and September 2018 there have been a total of 211 victims in Costa Rica. “In Costa Rica we defend citizens reports as the indispensable base to detect possible cases, however, thanks to the efforts carried out b...

The Labor Court of the Second Judicial Circuit of San Jose declared illegal the strike promoted by the National Association of Public Employees (ANEP) in the Ministry of Housing and Human Settlements (MIVAH) stating that the movement did not comply with the requirements established in the Labor Procedures Code. This is the second sentence by Labor Courts of the more than thirty requests that we...

Leaders of the labor unions announced since Saturday that the protest will continue this week and “for indefinite time”, this Monday they marched in different areas, including, downtown San Jose, Barranca in Puntarenas, Guápiles in Limón and Nicoya, Guanacaste. The labor unions have shared their schedule of activities on their social media channels, these are the planned activities, so you can ...

During the UN’s 73rd General Assembly this week Costa Rica will present its initiative for and "All Coalition", which includes topics such as environmental protection, climate action, inclusion, diversity, access to justice and international law, regional and global governance in migration and cooperation, and financing for development. These priorities and objectives coincide with those define...

At around midnight this Sunday, September 23, 2018, representatives of the Government and Labor Unions decided to take a break from their “preliminary dialogue” sessions and announced they will continue their meeting on Monday at 3 p.m. This was the fourth day of dialogue between both parties; no information has been released of what has been discussed or the progress made; Steven Nuñez, Minist...

Photo Credit: Zona de Motores FB In the early hours this Sunday, authorities and rescue entities received the alert of a very unusual accident in the Zapote roundabout, where a car ended up at almost the top of the Garantías Sociales monument. According to preliminary information the driver of the vehicle died as a result of the accident; no details have been released with regards to the ide...

Despite the current difficult social climate in the Costa Rican Caribbean as a result of the ongoing labor strike, the third cruise ship of the season, the Carnival Fantasy, arrived to this port on Saturday with a total 2,064 tourists and 872 crew members. This ship, operated by US-British company Carnival Cruises, is the third of 110 cruise ships expected to arrive to Limon this season and whi...

The Labor Court of the First Judicial Circuit of San Jose ruled that the strike of the employees of the National Production Council (CNP) is illegal because the strike is a mechanism to resolve conflicts related to labor situations and not of political order. This is the first resolution of illegality that has been resolved of the 32 that were presented by different public institutions in relat...

The Costa Rican Judicial Association (AVOJUD) called on its members to join the labor strike to protest the fiscal plan since it “weakens judicial security of the structure of the judges’ salaries”. “As it is of your knowledge, last Friday, September 14, project 20580 known popularly as “fiscal reform” was ruled in Commission through ‘fast track procedure’. The project regulates in Article 26, ...

The MS Maasdam, mid-size cruise ship of Holland America Line, arrived at the Golfito dock in the South Pacific of Costa Rica this week with 1,164 passengers aboard between tourists and crew; this is the first cruise that Golfito receives since its relaunching as tourism destination for mid-size cruise ships. Tourists were able to leave the ship and enjoy different cultural activities that had...

The Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT), in coordination with Paniamor Foundation, officially launched the Action Manual for the Tourism Sector Companies this week and also recognized a group of 56 tourism companies for their commitment over 5 consecutive years to the Code of Conduct Program which has the goal to discourage and prevent, to the fullest extent possible, the commercial sexual exploitatio...

After more than 11 hours of negotiation this Friday, September 21, representatives of the Costa Rican Government and leaders of the labor unions have not reached an agreement ensuring the strike will continue this Saturday into its 13th day. Government authorities affirmed they presented a proposal to the labor unions. The labor Union presented a counter proposal which the Government responded ...

Aeris Holdings, administrator of the Juan Santamaria Airport in Costa Rica announced the investment of $3.8 million in technology to reinforce security, monitoring and surveillance of passengers and flights while improving efficiency. 20 self-service check-in kiosks, a new operations and communication center , the creation of a crisis response room, and free WiFi are part of what has been imple...

In commemoration of the International Day of Peace, celebrated this Friday, September 21, the Costa Rican Ministry of Security destroyed a total of 1,423 firearms that had been seized in different operation The guns, linked to different judiciary processes, arrived at the National Arsenal with the respective orders of destruction, process which was carried out between Thursday, September 20 an...

American credit rating agency Moody’s published  its analysis in relation to the negotiations of the Costa Rican Government with the labor unions regarding the fiscal plan and stated that “even though dialogue is positive, the current social unrest is negative for Costa Rica since it complicates fiscal consolidation efforts” Moody’s highlighted the importance of the approval of the fiscal plan ...