Union Charges Costa Rica with CAFTA Violations

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union filed a formal complaint against the government of Costa Rica under the Central American Free Trade Agreement, charging that Costa Rica is not enforcing its own labor laws.

The ILWU, which represents dockworkers on the U.S. West Coast, said Costa Rica is conducting a "government-run media campaign" to discredit local unions known as the Sindicato de Trabajadores de Japdeva and the Asociacion Nacional de Empleados Publicos y Privados.

Additionally, the ILWU charges that the Costa Rican government has removed democratically-elected union leaders and replaced them with a government-backed, employer-run board of union directors.

Also, the ILWU charged that the government has frozen the union's bank accounts and is militarizing the ports and is "enticing workers to leave the union and accept privatization of the ports."

ILWU President Robert McEllrath said a similar privatization effort in 2006 at the Costa Rican Port of Caldera resulted in 90 percent of the longshore workers losing their jobs. The remaining workers experienced a pay cut of two-thirds, he said.

The ILWU has been working with the Costa Rican unions since February and has run advertisements in the local newspapers calling attention to the government's actions.

-- Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at bmongelluzzo@joc.com.