After a lengthy meeting that ran into the late night hours of Wednesday, the government of Costa Rica and the powerful dock workers’ union in the Caribbean region signed an agreement to put an end to the strike that started on October 22^nd in the ports of Limon and Moin. The strike, which had turned violent and extremely political at times, seemed as if it would never end, at least not until the Ombudsman Office stepped in to mediate.

Ombudsman Montserrat Solano, who was recently confirmed to her important position in Costa Rica, certified the execution of an agreement signed by Minister of Labor Victor Morales, union leader Ronaldo Blear (of SINJATRAP), and the Executive President of the Committee on Port Administration and Economic Development of the Atlantic Region (Spanish acronym: JAPDEVA), Ann McKinley.

As reported by national news radio station Columbia 98.7 FM, the agreement to end the strike that polarized the nation with violence and labor irregularities contains five major issues:

1. An immediate stop to violence.
2. An immediate end of the strike.
3. A guarantee by JAPDEVA that there will be no tolerance for reprisal against dock workers who crossed picket lines.
4. Dock workers will return to their duties as the Ombudsman continues to mediate differences caused by labor disputes and antitrust issues.
5. JAPDEVA will ensure that port operations return to normal on Thursday, November 6^th.

As previously reported by The Costa Rica Star:

Escalating violence marred an ongoing strike by dock workers in the Caribbean region of Costa Rica, and the latest reports from Fuerza Publica, the national police force, indicate that criminal instigators fired AK-47s and semiautomatic pistols at officers from riot control units.

At one point during the 15-day strike, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) warned that dock workers around the world could go on strike in solidarity with SINJATRAP stevedores after learning that the government had forcefully intervened in the matter. As of Wednesday night, port operations in Limon and Moin were operating at about 90 percent capacity.