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Three labor unions and a few student organizations in Costa Rica have agreed to hold a nationwide strike for Tuesday 26 June, in defense of the public health care system, La Caja, and against the newly amended Fiscal Reform Plan.
The call was made six days ago by a national coalition that brings together the Association of Teachers of Secondary Education (APSE in Spanish), the Caribbean dockworkers’ labor and development union, the General Confederation of Workers (CGT), and various student federations.
Defending the integrity of La Caja and fighting against the amended Fiscal Reform Plan (known as the Law for the Efficient Management of Public Funds in Costa Rica) will be the focus of the protest and general strike. The dockworkers’ union also wishes to call attention to crime and corruption in their industry, as well as income inequality. According to a statement from the coalition:
“June 26th is an opportunity for employees of La Caja and the insured patients to join the cause and cooperate in this protest.”
The coalition explained that the crisis of La Caja has been dragged by several administrations, has grown in complexity, and is now multifaceted. The coalition believes that the crisis is mostly caused by squandering of the public benefit in Costa Rica, and that certain individuals seek to profit from private benefits emanating from the imposition of the Free Trade Agreement with the United States.
“With the greatest of cynicism, consecutive government administrations have used the discontent of the population with regard to deterioration of the public health system to encourage investments that promote privatization.”
As an example, the coalition cites the constant funding shortage of La Caja, which they believe is caused in part by the meager interest rates paid on bonds and other debt instruments issued by the public health care systems. Those bonds are usually purchased by the government, which pays less than 1 percent interest on them. Meanwhile, sovereign debt bonds issued by the Central Bank currently pay almost 10 percent.
Source: El Pais (Costa Rica)
