Costa Rica: Blatant Interference by Government into Trade Union Affairs
Brussels, 26 January 2010: The ITUC, its regional organisation TUCA and its affiliates in Costa Rica roundly condemn the attempts by the government and the JAPDEVA port authority to undermine the leadership of the workers’ union SINTRAJAP, which is campaigning against the privatisation of the Limón port in the Caribbean.
According to information received by the ITUC, the Costa Rican government decided to privatise the Limón port, and in seeking to do so has violated the human, labour and trade union rights of SINTRAJAP as well as Conventions 87 and 98 of the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
On 15 January, the JAPDEVA port authority’s management held a parallel general assembly in one of the company’s storerooms for workers close to the government, in violation of the principle of trade union independence enshrined in Convention 87.
This assembly, composed of a small group of people, approved the removal of the legitimate leadership of SINTRAJAP and proceded to appoint a new set of leaders. The Labour Ministry, for its part, has charged the union in court with unfair labour practices, with the aim of destroying the union by legal means.
More:
http://www.ituc-csi.org/costa-rica-blatant-interference-by.html