Teachers unions will strike for the continued right to strike

The National Association of Educators (ANDE) and the High School Teachers Association  (APSE) announced Tuesday morning that they will go on an intermittent strike starting Sept. 2 in order to defend the right to strike.

The unions also assured that the demonstrations will also be in defense of pensions, salaries, annuities and against the public employment bill.

The president of ANDE, Gilberto Cascante, said the approval of proposed law 21.049, which would regulate the right to strike, is only the first step in a strategy that seeks to take away rights from workers.

Both unions are preparing a combined national march on Sept. 2, which would begin in downtown San José at 10 a.m. and continue toward the Legislative Assembly.

On Sept. 3, a rally will be held outside the Legislative Assembly starting at 2 p.m.

In addition, there will be demonstrations in parks and regional government offices throughout the country. 

“The strike does not end there,” Cascante said. “We will be vigilant — both the ANDE and the APSE — of the path that this project follows.

“We will be vigilant of the Legislative Assembly, and at the moment we have to call our colleagues back to strike, we will be doing so. This is a first call. Possibly, we will be on the street the day this project is being discussed in the first debate in the Legislative Assembly.”

A version of this story was originally published by Semanario Universidad on August 27, 2019. It was translated and republished with permission by The Tico Times. Read the original report at Semanario Universidad here.