President Suffers Setback in Limon Port Privatization
The nation’s highest court ruled illegal the replacement of union leadership for dock workers in Limon earlier this year. The decision nullifies the current board its resolutions including the agreement to accept a government payout and privative the Limon ports. At the time the replacement of the labor board exploded into a riot where police officers were injured by gun fire, and an angry mod surrounded the offices of police investigators to demand the release of suspects arrested in the violence.
According to La Nacion, the court decision also requires the union to restore the previous leadership. In the video news report, Jose Luis Castillo a representative of the same union vocally declares as illegal any attempt to transfer control of the ports to a private interest.
While the labor situation is complex, the upshot is that President Laura Chinchilla will have a long road ahead of her in renegotiations. Her comments in the video highlight that the Limon restoration project will not be affected by negotiations related to the proposed port labor concession.
Costa Rican legislative deputy Jose Maria Villalta expressed his opinion that the government attempted to overthrow democracy in the shake up of union leaders. He also denounced as an attempted bribe the $100,000 severance payout offered to workers by the previous administration of President Oscar Arias.
The video closes with a scene of dock workers gathering outside a union hall to hear from the reinstalled leadership.
The JAPDEVA union has also agreed to come back to the table that was pulled out from under them in May. Overall control of the ports of Limon and Moin, however is not something the old guard seems unwilling to cede.
The central point of the high court decision was that the removal of union leadership prior to close of their two year term resulted in a violation of due process. The government may have to wait until the next election and offer the workers even more money to abandon their jobs on one of the least efficient ports in Latin America.
Did You Enjoy This Article? Subscribe by Email to Updates
Filed Under: Local News
