A “preliminary meeting” between Government representatives and leaders of the labor unions is scheduled to take place this Wednesday, September 19 at the Archbishop’s Palace in San Jose at 9 a.m.

Yesterday afternoon leaders of the labor unions agreed to have the Catholic church mediate to facilitate dialogue between the parts. The meeting that will take place tomorrow will just be a first “phase” where the parties will discuss the conditions under which the dialogue will take place and the expectations of each party.

The Government has requested that for this dialogue to take place in a “climate of peace and tranquility”, the road blocks and protests must cease.

The afternoon of this Tuesday, a group of Ministers attended a meeting with the Archbishop of San Jose, Monsignor Jose Rafael Quirós, the Bishop of Limon, Roman Arias and other ecclesiastic representatives, in the meeting the Government presented a summary of the difficult fiscal situation currently faced by the country and the importance of finding solutions to the country’s finances to avoid a crisis.

Information on the impact of the labor strike and the different acts of violence and vandalism that have taken place during the movement was also offered to members of the Church.

The labor strike is on its ninth day today. Members of the labor unions are protesting the fiscal plan currently being discussed in the Legislative Assembly and which proposes the change from a regular sales tax to a value added tax (VAT), sets limits to certain salary pluses received by employees in the public sector, among other measures geared towards limiting tax evasion.

Even though Government institutions presented their request to declare the strike illegal since the first two days of the protest, the process in the courts takes several days since they have to notify the parts, grant them time to present their arguments, and revise again, in summary, the final word of the judges on whether the strike is legal or illegal might come the first week of October.