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Government Says It Will Dock
Protestors Pay
The government announced
yesterday that it will dock the
pay of those take time off work
to participate in next week's
protest against the Tratado de
Libre Comercio (TLC) - free
trade agreement with the United
States.
Unions have called on workers to
take to the streets next Monday
and Tuesday (Octber 23 and 24)
to pressure the country's
legislators to not approve the
trade agreement.
The Ministro de la Presidencia,
Rodrigo Arias, made the
announcement yesterday, with his
brother, Oscar Arias, the
president on his side and the
vice-president, Laura
Chinchilla, at the other end of
the table.
Minister Arias also said that
there will be a special police
operation - both of the Fuerza
Pública (police) and the
Tránsito (traffic) to ensure
traffic flow and a peaceful
protest. Arias said the amount
of police presence will depend
on the number of protestors and
the size of the manifestations.
Minister Arias called on all
public employees to not be
influenced by third parties
(union leaders). The minister
added to his message that the
future of the TLC should be
decided in Congress and not the
streets.
The Education minister, Leonardo
Garnier, added to the statement
by Arias that he has ordered the
school principals to make a list
of all teachers absent, as
900.000 students will be
affected by the lack of teachers
in the classroom and expressed
concern for those preparing for
exams the following week.
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