Taxpayers will no longer pay the abusive strikes of public officials.
On Monday, President Carlos Alvarado Quesada signed legislation that regulates the right of public sector workers to strike. The plan had been approved in the second debate last Thursday by the deputies with 35 votes in favor.
The law was promoted by the president of Congress and deputy of National Liberation, Carlos Ricardo Benavides. With this law, abuses such as those between September and December 2018 will be illegal.
President Alvarado and legislative president Benavides expressed their satisfaction with the final point of the approval of this law. The signature was made in the lobby of the Presidential House.
In addition to the reform of the Labor Code so as not to pay salaries from the first day to those who join a strike, the plan introduces modifications such as the classification of strikes from the point of view of public services.
For example, it defines the essential services in which strikes will be absolutely prohibited.
Some of them are medical and health services at all levels, police services, fuel supply while the activity is under a monopoly regime, air traffic controllers and migratory control, firefighters, drinking water supply and electricity, as well as provision of telecommunications services, among others.
In other services, strikes will be allowed, but subject to the provision of a minimum service plan.
This is the case of services of transcendental importance, such as garbage collection and waste treatment, loading and unloading work in docks and banking services. In addition, they will be limited to a period of 10 calendar days.
In the education sector, strikes will be allowed, but they cannot exceed a period of up to 21 calendar days.
Trade unions will also be obliged to keep a current and updated email to the Ministry of Labor to receive notifications of strike qualification procedures.
In addition, labor judges will be granted 24 hours to declare a strike legal or illegal.
The approved text does not contain the two paragraphs that were objected by the Constitutional Chamber. The law will take effect in a matter of days, subsequent to publication in the official Gazette.