Economy & Trade, Headlines, Labour, Latin America & the Caribbean

TRANSPORT-COSTA RICA: Controversy Over Strike and Air Safety

Felipe Jaime

MEXICO CITY, Jul 31 2004 (IPS) - Costa Rica’s airports are operating normally, according to government officials, even though more than 100 air traffic controllers have been on strike since Jun. 26.

”There are 125 of us on strike – 89 controllers…and 36 functionaries from the aeronautical information and flight plan offices and the flight information centre,” Leonardo Guillén, spokesman for Costa Rica’s Union of Professional Air Traffic Controllers, told IPS.

Guillén confirmed that the government had hired foreign personnel to replace the striking workers, who had been providing emergency coverage. But he declined to express an opinion on whether that measure posed a safety risk in the airports.

”I don’t want to discuss safety questions at this point, because of the negotiations we are engaged in with the government,” said Guillén.

On Thursday, the government and trade union delegates resumed talks to come up with a solution to the conflict.

”Safety in Costa Rican airspace is totally normal,” Alvaro Durán, in charge of aeronautical operations in the Central American country’s General Civil Aviation Office, told IPS in a telephone interview. ”Our three international airports are open, and the radar service is available and functioning.”

In late June, the air traffic controllers went on strike demanding implementation of a 35 percent wage hike that had been agreed to by the government in 1994.

The controllers complain that an increase in flights into the country have inflated their workload, while their wages have remained unchanged since 1994. Besides higher wages, they are demanding better pensions, and want the government to hire more controllers. They had been voicing those demands for years, without any success, according to the trade union.

In response to the slowdown, the government brought in some 30 strike breakers from Nicaragua, Peru, El Salvador and Honduras.

On Jul. 23, ”the four main international organisations representing workers in civil aviation took the unprecedented step of asking all airlines flying into and out of Costa Rica to consider suspending flights” in the Central American country’s airspace ”on safety grounds,” said a press release issued by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF).

The four groups were the safety professional and global representative organisations for air line pilots (IFALPA), air traffic controllers (IFATCA), air traffic services engineers (IFATSEA), and aviation workers (ITF).

In an open letter, the air organisations warned of a ”safety-critical” situation after the government sent in armed police to remove the striking air traffic controllers providing emergency service, replacing them with strike breakers from other countries.

”Not only are the newcomers not used to controlling Costa Rican airspace but also many of them are known to not even be qualified air traffic controllers,” said the media release.

On Jul. 12, ”the ITF, IFALPA, IFATCA and IFATSEA gave the president of Costa Rica an ultimatum of one week to return qualified air traffic controllers to their posts. Failure to do so, they stated, would force them to warn airlines flying in and out of Costa Rica about the grave safety risks being taken. That ultimatum has expired,” it added.

The ITF pointed out that the ”normal, qualified personnel…have been willing to offer an agreed minimum safety service all along.”

”It is understandable that as trade unions they would express their solidarity with the Costa Rican air traffic controllers,” said Durán. ”The government responded to them, because their statements were irresponsible.”

The complaints are unfounded and based on ”subjective appraisals and not on a real evaluation of the situation in the country, so they were invited to come here and observe the situation,” added the official.

”Since the strike started, over a month ago, no airline has presented an official report of an incident. We have only received three reports of incidents from local air taxi pilots,” said Durán.

The association that represents the international airlines operating in Costa Rica ”has spoken favourably about the air safety in our air terminals,” he added.

Between 1990 and 2000, civil aviation authorities registered 134 accidents in Costa Rica, most of which involved local airlines and flights, like air taxis and crop-dusting planes, according to official statistics.

In 2000, 17 accidents, 11 incidents, and 23 irregularities were reported. Fourteen accidents were caused by human error and three by mechanical flaws. In all, 18 people died, 15 were seriously injured, and 11 suffered light injuries.

Costa Rica has more than 100 public and private air terminals, including three international airports. The ”Juan Santamaría” International Airport, located 25 km north of the capital, is the main port of entry for foreign tourists.

Between January and June, 540,000 tourists arrived at the ”Juan Santamaría” airport, 25 percent more than in the first half of 2003. A full 71 percent of visitors who entered the country last year came in through the airport, according to official sources.

The General Civil Aviation Office reported that in 2003, 1.8 million passengers travelled on international flights, six percent up from 2002. This year, traffic could grow to two million.

Sixteen airlines, mainly from the United States, the rest of Central America, and Europe, offer international passenger, cargo and mail services in Costa Rica.