ICE workers on strike today
File photo
November 5th, 2012 (InsideCostaRica.com) Workers from the Costa Rican Electricity Institution (ICE) will carry out a strike today, in order to show their disapproval of the actions of the Telecommunications Superintendence (SUTEL, in Spanish), Costa Rica’s telecom regulating authority.
Jorge Arguedas, president of the National Associations of Technicians in Energy and Telecommunications, explained that the strike would begin at 7:00 a.m., as 2,000 employees from various ICE agencies will arrive at the main ICE building in La Sabana.
There, they will hold a public meeting, and at 9:00 a.m, will march towards the SUTEL building in Guachipelin, Escazu, where they will deliver a document, of which the President, Laura Chinchilla, will also receive a copy.
Arguedas explained that the reason for the strike is very simple: “SUTEL, with its decisions, is forcing ICE into bankruptcy,” he said. Arguedas says SUTEL’s decisions unfairly favor private cellular operators.
He added that various decisions that SUTEL has taken, far from favoring ICE or being unbiased, have hurt the company, such as imposing new rules in regards to what he calls “outrageous” rates and terms that the company cannot comply with.
For example, when ICE requested permission to purchase a company to provide cable television service, SUTEL ordered the company to return 4 broadcast frequencies owned by the company to the State.
“That is absolute blackmail from SUTEL towards ICE, because these frequencies are necessary to provide 4G cellphone service, which is the future of the business,” he added.
Lastly, Arguedas stated that this is only the first measure of this type that ICE employees are willing to take in order to defend the institution.
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