The initiative prohibits strikes in essential public services such as health, safety, school lunchrooms, and water and energy supply. It also puts limits on work stoppages in education.
Alvarado has called the unemployment rate — recently tallied at 11.3% of the economically active population — as the most serious economic problem in Costa Rica.
For the first time in history, the Costa Rican Colon surpassed 600 colones per dollar. On Wednesday, some banks were reporting an exchange rate of ₡616 for $1.
