Costa Rica: support for general strike

Costa Rica: ICFTU and ORIT declare support for general strike

Echoing the statement of the ICFTU's Inter-American Regional Organisation of Workers (ICFTU-ORIT), the international trade union movement has voiced its support for the Costa Rican workers participating in a general strike in the country today (Thursday 29 July 2004).

Costa Rica's Trade Union and Teachers' Coordination (CUSIMA), which represents 70% of the country's unionised workers, including the ICFTU-affiliated national trade union centre - the CTRN - declared the strike calling for the full respect for trade union rights and defence of collective bargaining agreements negotiated by trade unions.

In their correspondence (Spanish original: http://www.icftu.org/displaydocument.asp?Index=991220409&Language=EN) to Costa Rican President Abel Pacheco, the ICFTU and ICFTU- ORIT urged the government to heed the demands of the country's trade unions. It underlined that this was important to "preserve the climate of social harmony and peace" in the Central American country.

In the most recent issue of its Annual Survey on Violations of Trade Unions Rights, published in June 2004, the ICFTU noted the troubling legal action taken by the Costa Rican government to declare all benefits gained by public sector workers through collective bargaining as unconstitutional.

The ICFTU represents 148 million workers through its 233 affiliated national trade union centres in 152 countries and territories. ICFTU is also a member of Global Unions: http://www.global-unions.org

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