Respected member of Parliament and the Frente Amplio party files a challenge against “unconstitutionality and bribery” in changes recently made to the collective bagaining agreement by disputed union leadership
The ILWU Coast Longshore Division recently met with Jose Maria Villalta in Costa Rica.
SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA, JUNE 14, 2010 — Parliamentarian José María Villalta, acting in his role as a Frente Amplio party leader, filed a constitutional challenge against what he considers “blackmail, an absolutely illegal bribery lodged in an amendment to the SINTRAJAP union’s collective agreement, which was negotiated with the complicity of a bogus board.”
The new Collective Bargaining Agreement of JAPDEVA, which covers port workers, was negotiated between a dubious board purporting to represent the SINTRAJAP union, and the chief executive of JAPDEVA, the agency which manages the ports of Limon and Moin. It was signed on April 27 and approved by the current government on June 1.
Villalta said, “I’ve decided to launch on behalf of the Frente Amplio party this Appeal of Unconstitutionality, because I consider the process and concession that’s taking place with 1,500 workers to be completely illegal. It’s blackmail, the purchase of conscience that’s now reflected in the immoral change to the agreement, which affects public finances and the rights of users who pay fees for public services. ”
The concession includes handing over the public ports to private management.
The new amendments effectively pay a bribe of 80 billion colones (USD$137 million) to be shared among about 1,500 employees, and certain pension benefits. All of these actions are considered unconstitutional by the plaintiff.
Villalta called on “those who have previously filed actions against several other collective agreements, to now stand up against this real example of bribery.”
Finally, Villalta was emphatic in stating, “It’s impossible to say that the government doesn’t have 28 billion colones to fulfill President Chinchilla’s campaign promise to support the National Child Care Network, if at the same time they have 80 billion colones to bribe 1,500 workers.”
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