Group Calls "Plan Escudo" A
"Plan
Látigo" For Workers
The Campaña Regional contra la Flexibilidad Laboral en Costa Rica,
which has been fighting for worker rights in Costa Rica since 2004,
says the "plan escudo" program announced by the government last
month, to fight off the effects of the financial crisis, is taking
advantage of the situation.
The association, in a press statement, said that the government's
plan announced on January 29 is far from protecting workers rights,
but rather is being used to tramble those rights.
The association says the government is responsible for the crisis
and that president Oscar Arias is telling a lie when he says "we did
not provoke this crisis".
The group rejects the president's claims that the financial crisis
in the country was started by more powerful countries in the world,
saying that the policies of the last 20 years of the neo liberals
have left small and medium sized businesses unprotected.
The group reminds that it was Oscar Arias who was at the helm 20
years ago when the the agricutural sector was dismantled, a sector
dedicated to the production of basic grains and no dependent on the
US market.
The document says "the workers should have to pay the damage. The
evil called 'plan escudo' raises two conflicting measures, on
the one hand to increase the work day to 12 hours and on the other
reduce the time worked by each employee, hence reducing the salary".
The association, in its document, states that the only protection
workers have now is the Código de Trabajo (Labour Code) and it is
exactly that code that the 'plan escudo' intents to weaken.
The group offers the government the challenge, that if it is really
interested in the well being of workers, to consider finding ways of
creating decent jobs so that families can face the financial crisis.
The statement by the Campaña Regional contra la Flexibilidad Laboral
en Costa Rica ended with a call to all groups to organize a single
national assembly to prevent the implementation of "Plan Látigo"
(Whipping Plan) against the workers and to fight for higher labour
protections during these times of crisis. |
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