Costa Rica: Antiunion repression
Brussels (ICFTU OnLine): Serious threats were made against Costa Rican trade union representatives from the
Confederación de Trabajadores Rerum Novarum (CTRN) when their office was attacked in on 24 May.
5 CTRN representatives were held at gunpoint by assailants who burst into their offices in the morning of the 24th, then
tied up and subjected to death threats. One of the assailants placed his gun in the mouth of the CTRN Education
Secretary.
The attackers ransacked the CTRN's office and searched through the organisation's filing cabinets, removing large
amounts of paperwork as well as a computer. They also took personal belongings, cash, and mobile phones.
During the raid, the assailants were in communication by mobile phone with an unknown person, to whom they gave a
running commentary of their actions, saying that they knew the CTRN President was out of the country and there were
several people in the office.
The CTRN staff were then again threatened as the attackers left the building, and were then able to free themselves some
45 minutes later.
The ICFTU strongly condemns this attack against the national trade union centre and its staff, and insists that the
government of Costa Rica fully meet its obligations as a member of the International Labour Organisation, having
ratified ILO Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining Conventions.
In a letter to the national authorities,
(http://www.icftu.org/www/PDF/CTRN30mayo2006.pdf), the ICFTU has also called for a full investigation of the incident, and that the perpetrators be identified and
prosecuted.
The ICFTU represents 155 million workers in 236 affiliated organisations in 154 countries and territories. http://www.icftu.org/
ICFTU is also a partner in Global Unions. http://www.global-unions.org/.