Costa Rica: Proposal for a Banana worker's day
The project, which was ruled last week in the Committee on Agriculture of Congress, seeks to establish the fourth of August as a day to commemorate these workers.
The aim of the initiative is to remind and explain to people, especially in school, the historical significance that banana cultivation has had, the positive and negative impact of the banana companies, and the struggle of the workers.
Current situation
This project also seeks to raise awareness about the industry's current situation and how the sector is trying to evolve.
For example, Limon has nearly 45,000 hectares devoted to banana crops, which creates 45,000 direct and 100,000 indirectly jobs.
By law, there would be no mandatory holiday pay this day.
Data
According to the National Banana Corporation (Corbana), historically, Costa Rican banana production has been destined for the US and the European Union markets.
In 2015 and in 2014, the European market was the main destination with 55.2% of all banana exports, followed by the United States with 36%.
The remaining 8.8% was shipped to other markets, such as Panama, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and other European countries that aren't part of the EU (especially Turkey and Norway).
Source: laprensalibre.cr