Public sector protest

Public employee unions will hold a demonstration on Oct.20 to urge lawmakers not to cut salary bonuses from Costa Rica's budget for 2015.

Hundreds of public employees staged several protests across Costa Rica Thursday morning against a 0.43 percent government-backed wage hike, which demonstrators say is too little to meet basic costs.

Education will receive the largest chunk of spending, but the amount is less than the Constitution requires.

President Laura Chinchilla's finance minister asks for an 8 percent national budget increase in 2014 compared to the previous year.