ICE Union Strikes over Bill

Privatization does not come easily in this country and could spell an end to National Liberation Party's two-term run in the national elections of 2014.

Monday, the work's union of the national power and light company, ICE, went on strike, accompanied by the usual demonstrations that blocked the street north of downtown San Jose's La Sabana Park and snarled the routes to La Uruca and the PanAmerican Highway to the north of the capital.

The ICE employees were protesting a bill in the Legislative Assembly to privatize the generation of electricity. The government-owned ICE currently has a monopoly on all electricity. The protesters marched up Paseo Colon from their assembly point at the park, then up Central Avenue to the Legislative Assembly building.

The demonstration was only announced late Sunday afternoon, in an attempt to pressure lawmakers to reject the proposed Electrical Contingency Law. The law would rewrite regulations about electrical generation and sales, previously an ICE monopoly.

The union hoped for 2,000 workers to turn out for the strike and march. Coordinator Fabio Chavez of the Internal Workers' Front (FII) of ICE told La Nacion that the strikers hope to promote a "national dialogue" on the bill. The proposed legislation is aimed at boosting  the nation's output to 400 megawatts in the next six years through private power generation.

The bill is given high priority by the Chinchilla Administration. But Jorge Arguedas, president of the FII- allied telecommunications union, told La Nacion, "What we don't want is to destroy the current (power) model that has functioned in an efficient way. We also oppose the privatization of service (which) will put at risk the electrical security of the country."

(Arguedas's reference to "efficiency" is poorly timed. ICE announced the raising of rates because low rainfall this season has caused a scarcity of hydroelectric dam output that has forced firing up diesel generators. (See previous article.)

Analysis: Although National Liberation Party has not always seen eye-to-eye with unions, relations were friendly during the 20th century. But in the last decade, after ex-president Oscar Arias (2006-2010) pushed the previously leftist party toward the center, relations are colder than ever.

First came the privatizations attendant to the passage of the Central American Free Trade Agreement -- including opening up telecommunications to free competition. Then, the Arias government tried to gain some control of the Limon dock workers' union, which brought a reprimand from the courts as well as strong protests from the AFL-CIO in the United States.

Those same longshoremen were further enraged by the Chinchilla Administration granting a contract to the Dutch firm APM Terminals to construct a new port facility in Limon. Now comes the electrical contingency bill.

Although private sector labor unions are not strong -- except for the longshoreman's union at the Limon docks -- government unions are not lightly antagonized by politicians. Due partly to a bloated bureaucracy, their votes are numerous and they have money to throw into campaigns.

This may mean problems for National Liberation in 2014.