Costa Rica School Strike Sees 26,000 Absent

COSTA RICA · EDUCATION

Costa Rica’s Education Ministry (MEP) said 26,000 of its staff were absent from their schools on Wednesday, 11 November 2026, the day teachers’ unions struck over pay, pensions and the 2027 budget. That is a little over a quarter of the ministry’s payroll, and 111 school canteens stayed closed all day for lack of staff, the ministry said.

Education Minister Leonardo Sánchez said three in four workers did not join the protest. President Laura Fernández called the marchers “vagabonds” and said the government would deduct the day’s pay.

The row is about how Costa Rica pays its education and pension bills, which matters to families in its public schools and to investors who hold its debt. S&P Global Ratings, a US credit-rating agency, affirmed the country at BB, a rating below investment grade, with a stable outlook in July 2026.

A one-day strike left schools short of staff, and the argument over who owes whom is far from settled.

What the Ministry Says

The ministry said the 26,000 absences were staff who did not report to their own school because of the strike. It also said the 111 canteens closed for the full day.

Minister Sánchez said three of every four workers did not join the movement. He has argued that the unions’ complaints lack foundation and are driven by politics, not technical reasons.

Why the Unions Walked Out

The march set off in the morning from La Merced park in San José towards the Plaza de la Democracia, in front of the Legislative Assembly (parliament). It brought together the teachers’ unions ANDE (National Association of Educators), APSE (secondary-school teachers) and SEC (Union of Costa Rican Education Workers), plus the country’s five public universities.

The unions say the 2027 budget bill gives education 4.9% of gross domestic product (GDP, the size of the economy), against the 8% the Constitution sets. They also want overdue seniority increments and extra pay, and they question the switch to a single “global salary”, one pay scale for new hires.

The Pension and University Money

APSE, the secondary-school teachers’ union, says the state still owes more than ₡44 billion (Costa Rican colones, about US$98 million) to Jupema, the teachers’ pension board, although the minister says it has been paid. It adds that about ₡50 billion (about US$112 million) is missing from the 2027 budget for pension duties, even after the ministry announced a payment of more than ₡30 billion (about US$67 million).

Conare, the council of university rectors, and the five public universities reject a cut of ₡8.05 billion (about US$18 million) to their higher-education fund in the 2027 budget. The money is part of ₡62.59 billion (about US$140 million) the universities deferred in 2020 and 2021, which the government agreed to repay in eight instalments from the second half of 2026; the universities say the first instalment was not paid.

The Government Pushes Back

Fernández said the marchers demand “things that do not exist”, in her view. Gilda Montero, president of the National Association of Educators (ANDE), asked her to apologise.

The ministry says it has started the process, through the Attorney General’s Office, to ask a labour court to rule on whether the strike was legal. Fernández also warned that the government will deduct the day’s pay from educators who struck.

What It Means for You

Families with children in Costa Rican public schools may face more closures if the unions strike again, because neither side has moved. Pay deductions could harden the dispute while the 2027 budget vote is on hold under a court order.

For investors, the question is whether the government can fund pensions and schools inside its 2027 budget. Our reports on the court order halting the budget vote and the march over social security debt show the same pressure.

What Is Not Known

No union count of strikers has been published, so the 26,000 figure is the ministry’s own. Whether a court will rule the strike illegal, and whether pay will in fact be deducted, is not yet known.

No count of closed schools has been published, only the canteen figure. More is on our Costa Rica hub.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did Costa Rica’s teachers strike on 11 November?

Unions protested the 2027 education budget, overdue pay and the state’s debt to the teachers’ pension board. The education minister says their case is political.

How many staff joined the strike?

The Education Ministry says 26,000 staff were absent, just over a quarter of its payroll. The minister says three in four workers did not join.

Will striking teachers lose a day’s pay?

President Laura Fernández said the government will deduct the strike day’s pay from educators who took part. A labour court has not yet ruled on the strike’s legality.

Were school canteens affected?

The ministry says 111 school canteens stayed closed all day for lack of staff. No count of closed schools has been published.

Sources: Costa Rica’s Education Ministry (MEP, mep.go.cr), statements of 11 and 12 November 2026; statements by President Laura Fernández and the unions ANDE and APSE of 10–11 November 2026; Conare statement on the 2027 budget; Costa Rica’s Political Constitution; S&P Global Ratings, sovereign rating action of July 2026. Conversions at ₡447.59 per US$ (the weighted-average close of 11 November 2026 on Monex, the foreign-exchange market run with the central bank).