https://www.laestrella.com.pa/nacional/220329/dirigentes-suntracs-reuniran-presidente-cortizo-abordar-conflicto-laboral-capac

The general secretary of the Single Union of Construction and Similar Workers (Suntracs), Saúl Méndez announced that this Wednesday they will meet with the President of the Republic, Laurentino Cortizo Cohen to address the conflict that exists with the Panamanian Chamber of Construction (Capac ), with whom they negotiate a new collective agreement.

“We are going to talk about the collective conflict that exists at the moment with the Capac businessmen and I understand, from the reports we handle, that he has already met with the Capac businessmen to discuss the same issue,” Méndez said.

The union has already announced the start of a strike on April 4, if an agreement between the parties is not reached, and even this Tuesday they announced that next Friday, April 1, there will be a warning strike for one hour.

Méndez explained that the Suntracs board of directors approved a series of actions to be carried out in the coming days.

He also announced that the National Confederation of Independent Union Unity (Conusi) in the afternoon of this Wednesday will carry out a picketing in solidarity with the construction workers.

He explained that there will be a massive distribution of flyers throughout the country and on Friday a warning strike will be declared for the Capac businessmen.

“We are going to do this warning strike for an hour, it will be from 7 to 8 in the morning and the 20,000 construction workers are being called to stop their work on Friday,” he said.

Méndez also denounced that the Capac employers are violating the freedom of association contemplated in ILO Convention 87, the Political Constitution and the Labor Code, which in its articles 128 and 129 prohibit employers from trying to influence workers and their unions.

“When Capac tries to influence the union’s decisions, it is openly violating the Labor Code. We do not see the Labor Minister or anyone from the authorities say anything about this, this fuels the conflict,” Méndez warned.