Public workers unions said Thursday at a press conference that they will not attend a meeting with government representatives scheduled for this afternoon to discuss a draft bill that would cut extra salary incentives in public sector wages.
Instead they will deliver a report on wages and employment in the public sector, said Gilberto Cascante, secretary general of the National Association of Educators.
Cascante accused Labor Minister Olman Segura Bonilla of “confusing the public by suggesting that union representatives are ready to start negotiating the removal or limitation of salary bonuses and benefits, which is not true.”
Union leaders say that in order to restart dialogue, government officials must abandon “any initiative promoting a bill that violates their rights.”
Unions will move forward with a public strike on Friday, asking parents not to send their children to school, as teachers will join the protest scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. in La Hispanidad roundabout, east of San José. Marchers will then move to Casa Presidencial in Zapote, where they will deliver a list of demands to President Laura Chinchilla.
