Labour Ministry To Promises To Look Out For Laid Off Verizon Employees
The Ministerio de Trabajo (Labour Ministry) is promising to ensure that the 150 employees laid off by Verizon last week will get paid their salary and their benefits.

Ministro de Trabajo, Fernando Trejos, said that the Verizon employees will not suffer the same fate as many other employees have in the past when a foreign company shut down operations.

Verizon made the announcement on Friday, deciding to close down operation in Costa Rica over a row with the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) over the publication of the 2005 telephone directory. Verizon has been publishing both the withe and yellow pages for the last six years.

ICE says that Verizon decided to publish a separate directory for San José and one for the provinces without it's approval and contrary to it's policy and contract. As such it refused to accept and continue to distribute the 2005 directory published by Verizon. At the end of May, the ICE board of directors decided to cancel the contract with Verizon. Verizon on the other hand says it did get approval for the change.

Verizon officials said they will continue operations in Costa Rica for the next two months fulfilling all their obligations to employees, customers and suppliers before shutting their doors.

The Ministerio de Trabajo is considering adopting measures, though no details were released by Trejos, so that Verizon keeps it's word to meet it's obligation to the employees.