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Strike At Limón Docks Imminent
The province of Limón is ready
for a dock worker's strike at
any moment, the only thing that
is not known is who will light
the match for the explosion.
Yesterday, workers of the Junta
de Administración Portuaria y de
Desarrollo Económico de la
Vertiente Atlántica (Japdeva)
and workers affected by the
opening of the docks in 1995
joined forces that could lead to
the complete paralyzation of the
province.
The Eddie Bermúdez gymnasium,
which was filled to the limit,
was the meeting place.
The Limón and Moín dockworkers
are upset about the presumed
privatization of the docks by
the government, similar to the
move in the Pacific docks at
Caldera.
At the same time, they are
claiming back pay of up to ¢480
million colones (us$932.000) for
benefits awarded them in a
collective agreement signed in
2005 and which was never paid
because of a resolution by the
Autoridad Reguladora de los
Servicios Públicos, the
government agency that regular
public prices and services.
The newly appointed president of
the Japdeva, Walter Robinson,
said earlier this week that the
government agency doesn't have
the money to pay the claim.
"Robinson met with us but
offered no solution to the
problem, to the contrary, he
came to antagonize us" commented
Leroy Pérez, a spokesperson for
the Sindicato de Trabajadores de
Japdeva (the workers union).
At the same meeting, Robinson
confirmed the intention of the
Arias administration to offer
the dock services on concession,
a move that angers many
residents of Limón who remember
a similar move by the Partido
Liberación Nacional (PLN) when
it privatized the docks and
wound up closing the railway in
the area.
The former dock workers are the
other group that claiming
payment of indemnity when their
services were privatized. The
former workers became steamed on
learning last week that the
former dock workers at Caldera
will be paid.
"While the Puntarenas (Caldera)
workers are getting paid after
11 months of not working, we are
still waiting for a just
indemnization", said Franciso
Correa, leader of the former
dock workers.
Both groups said that they are
waiting for the "most
appropriate" time to kick off
the strike.
Some 110 work with Japdeva and
four times that number make up
the former dock workers.
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