Costa Rican
Employers Reject Unions
Costa Rican employers continued with
their determination on Tuesday to veto the
right of their employees to join a union,
even in the face of possible Labor Code
reforms.
Deputies in the Legislative Assembly are
discussing changes to the legal regulations
to allow a broadening of the prerogatives of
citizens to form unions, both in private and
public companies, so that this cannot be
taken as a pretext for layoffs.
Representatives of the labor movement and
legislators insist on considering changes
under discussion as an obligation of Costa
Rica before the International Labor
Organization (ILO), which is a body that
continues monitoring labor problems in this
Central American nation.
However, many businesspeople believe the
proposed changes would threaten the
operation of their businesses by placing
alleged legal obstacles to layoff policies.
As champions of neoliberal practices, they
maintain that in times of economic crisis
these types of reforms might be
counterproductive, even more so to entities
with financial problems, which they argue
need staff cuts.
In view of this reaction from
businesspeople, General Secretary of the
National Association of Public and Private
Employees, Albino Vargas, considered that
failing to approve the changes "would make a
mockery of international labor regulations,
including union freedom," amounting to a
worsening of "the country's image with
regard to labor issues."
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