IMPACT OF PUBLIC UNION PROTEST SMALL

UNCLAS SAN JOSE 001276 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR WHA/CEN JASON MACK E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB PGOV CS SUBJECT: IMPACT OF PUBLIC UNION PROTEST SMALL REF: A. SAN JOSE 1204 ¶B. SAN JOSE 1251 -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. The work stoppage and protest planned for June 7 and 8 took place on June 7 only, and the effects on economic activity in Costa Rica were minimal. The narrow focus of the work stoppage - the nullification of various provisions in public employee collective bargaining agreements - did not appear to motivate more than a few thousand protesters to peacefully protest through the streets of San Jose and in front of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruling put Costa Rica in an awkward position at an ILO conference. End summary. -------------- --- WORK STOPPAGE AND PROTEST PEACEFUL, IMPACT SMALL -------------- --- ¶2. On June 7, several thousand public employees took the day off work and marched to the Costa Rican Supreme Court to express their opposition to several recent rulings that nullified certain provisions in their collective bargaining agreements found to be excessive (reftel A). Estimates of the protest size varied, from a police estimate of 3,000 to a union estimate of over 7,000 protesters. Contrary to the prediction of some union leaders, the protest failed to impede normal economic activity. With the exception of the closure of the central offices at Costa Rica's Electricity Institute (ICE),there were no disruptions of government services. Traffic was affected only in San Jose central, where the march to the courthouse took place between 11 A.M. and 1 P.M., well outside of normal commuting times. There were no arrests or disturbances reported. As expected, there was also an anti-CAFTA theme to the protest, though the stated goal was specifically to demonstrate disapproval of the collective bargaining provisions recently struck down. -------------- COSTA RICA'S MIXED MESSAGES AT THE ILO -------------- ¶3. President Oscar Arias addressed the 95th Conference of the International Labor Organization (ILO) in Geneva on June ¶8. With the theme "decent employment lies at the heart of peace," Arias called for improvements in education and the opening of trade as tools to increase job growth in the developing world. He used the occasion to once again present his plan to "link international cooperation with peace, social investment, sustainable development, and a reduction in military spending" which he calls the Costa Rica Consensus (reftel B). Coincidentally, at the same conference, Costa Rica will be one of 25 countries scrutinized in a public hearing by the Standards and Fundamental Principals and Rights at Work Commission for delaying ratification of various conventions that recognize the right of public workers to bargain collectively. The same commission will also look at Costa Rica's recent decision affecting collective bargaining. In its defense, Costa Rica is expected to argue that it was the former Human Rights Ombudsman, not the current, who asked the supreme court to review the constitutionality of the collective bargaining provisions. The Arias government wants to avoid an ILO investigation due to the negative publicity this would generate and in general has portrayed the dispute as one between the workers and the supreme court. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶4. The work stoppage and protest march was smaller and less significant than some union leaders predicted. The predictions related to poloffs by Albino Vargas of the National Association of Public Employees (ANEP) proved to be most accurate. Public interest and support for this protest did not appear to be strong. The protesters were decrying losses of fringe benefits the large majority of Costa Ricans would never receive. Additionally, many Costa Ricans associate the cost of these fringe benefits with high prices for government services. Thus, it is difficult to determine from this protest whether the power of the unions to influence the debate in the CAFTA ratification process is waxing or waning. FRISBIE