Thousands Were Out to Protest
Thousands of public employees will have their salary docked for participating in yesterday's peaceful protest on the Corte Suprema de Justicia, in downtown San José. An estimated 7.000 braved the cold and rainy morning to have their voices heard by the "ladrones" (thieves) inside the court building.

The protest as organized the various workers unions to demonstrate the latest court decisions that say have trampled their labour rights and benefits.

On hand for the protest were workers of the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS), Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), Compañía Nacional de Fuerza y Luz (CNFL), Municipalidad de San José, Refinadora Costarricense de Petróleo (RECOPE), Instituto Nacional de Seguros (INS), Fábrica Nacional de Licores and members of the Magisterio Nacional, along with teachers and construction workers.

The main objective of the protest was to call the attention of the magistrates inside the court building, the entrance which was heavily guarded by members of the special police unit of the Fuerza Pública, and of course to have their opposition to the Tratado de Libre Comercio (TLC) - free trade agreement with the United States - known.

Due to the protest, most government offices were closed or with a skeleton staff to provide services. One institution, ICE - the state monopoly on telecommunications and energy - had their doors completely shut. Nurses sat on the ground in front of the court building with protest signs.

The pedestrian walkway along Avenida Central was completely filled with litter yesterday afternoon, partly due to the large number of protestors on the streets and the fact that the street cleaners were not at their job, taking the opportunity to join the other public sector employees in the protest.

The main force of the protest centred in San José. However, regional government offices were also affected, as government workers, in small numbers, protested outside government buildings. In Limón, a bonfire was set outside the local officers of the Spanish language daily newspaper La Nación and Al Día.

The main thrust of the protest is a recent Sala Constitucional (Constitutional Court) decision that eliminates a series of benefits negotiated by the workers with the various government institutions, which according to the workers unions is a step in the direction for the "big" companies take advantage of "cheap" labour when the TLC is in place.

Protestors outside the court building called on the magistrates, calling them "liars" and "thieves" to show their face. None of the magistrates did come out of the building during the protest that ended by 2:30pm.

Today (Thursday) workers of the INS and high school teachers will continue their strike action.