ICE Workers Strike Today

San José will be a traffic nightmare today as employees of the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) and local electrical cooperatives will march against bills proposed by the government that, they claim, would allow the opening of the electricity market in the country.



While some say the opening of the market - that is the breaking of the monopoly held by ICE, like that of the telecommunications - is a good thing, while others, especially the ICE employees, bad for the country.

The demonstration will start around 10am in front of the ICE headquarters in Sabana and will weave through Paseo Colon and Avenida Segunda to Casa Presidencial in Zapote.

Expected to take part in the protest are 10.000 or more.

"What we want is to defend the country's power partnership model. This is not to accept a civic march through the approval of projects such as the Electric Contingency", said Omar Miranda, manager of the Cooperativa de Electrificación Rural de San Carlos.

ICE and local cooperatives assure that the protest will not affect electrical services in the country.