Costa Rican pineapple workers may make history

Workers today in northern Costa Rica may make history with a first collective bargaining agreement on a pineapple farm.

Costa Rica’s Labor Ministry is alert to a strike that initiated today at 3:00 a.m. by workers at the Santa Fe pineapple plantation in the far northern town of Los Chiles, said Gerald Valverde Santos, spokesman for the Private Sector Workers Union, Sitrasep, this morning over the phone.

Last year, the workers, who had successfully reached agreements regarding wages, and other basic worker rights with their employer, Tropical Fruits, a subsidiary of Exportaciones Norteña, wound up striking on four occasions after these agreements were not upheld, said Valerde.

Source: The Costa Rica Star