In Costa Rica teachers at the National Institute who trains technicians, are preparing to teach classes on "social solidarity economy" under the concept that "private businesses have little or no critical concience about workers".
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
EDITORIAL
Private companies are wary of the recent inclusion of concepts related to cooperatives and unions in the educational programs at the National Institute of Learning, whose main objective is the teaching of technical skills, and whose resources come mainly, with 80%, from the private sector.
An article in Nacion.com reports that "... the Institute uses a document entitled The social solidarity economy as an instrument for inclusive and sustainable development, as a basis for the formation of teachers. The text says that the 'private companies have little or no critical awareness of workers" and forms of social solidarity economy are an 'instrument for forming commitment and critical conscience.'"
Rónald Jimenez, president of the Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations of Private Enterprises (Uccaep) noted that "... that 'INA has a very defined role and leverages funds from the corporate sector to train technical staff, give jobs to Costa Ricans and provide labor for the business sector. We do not want to see them giving courses, for example, on political doctrine '. We are even willing to take them to the Constitutional Court.'"
President Solis has signed a decree declaring of public interest the "promotion, development and formalization of businesses in the social solidarity economy", at the same time as a bill with the same concept is not advancing in the legislature.
When the bill on the Social Solidarity Economy was presented in July 2015, theprivate sector expressed doubtsabout a concept that"... represents unfair competition against formal private companies and contributes nothing to the serious fiscal problems of the country, because it reduces the question of tax collections."
A bill creates the regime of "Social Solidarity Economy", which creates exemptions from virtually all taxes for companies registered in the scheme.
The vice president of the Chamber of Commerce of Costa Rica, Victor Ruiz, said that "... the model of the ESS (Social Solidarity Economy) represents unfair competition against formal private companies and contributes nothing to the serious fiscal problems of the country because it reduces the question of tax collection. "
Despite its development in advanced countries, including the more established social democracies, dual education is fundamentally opposed by those who will always be threatened by any changes.
EDITORIAL
As with education unions throughout Latin America, where there is an imperative need for radical changes in education systems which are increasingly lagging behind the rest of the world, in Costa Rica the corporation of education workers is radically opposed to any changes, even those that have proven successful in countries with political systems focused on social welfare such as the European social democracies, as is dual education.
Salvadoran businessmen have pointed out that the agreement which intended to stimulate the economy and overcome obstacles to growth, has not provide great results.
Although it is more than a year since implementation of the agreement, the private sector finds it necessary to involve private enterprise more in order for the government to generate better policies to attract investment.