Thousands endorse ongoing construction strike

THOUSANDS  of striking construction workers belonging to the Suntracs Union, gathered in Panama, Bocas del Toro and Chiriqui on Monday, April 30 vowing to continue their two-week work stoppage, and rejecting the wage  “crumbs” offered by the employers’ association (CAPAC).

At the end of the Panama City assembly in Parque Porras, Union members chanting “decent wages’’ marched to the Capac headquarters.

The strike began on April 18 after six months of negotiations had stalled over wage issues with the employers initially offering a cent an hour increase each year over a four-year agreement. They later raised the offer to two cents e claiming that the industry is in decline although real estate salespeople are touting investment opportunities in a booming economy.

Capac claims that  by Wednesday the strike will have cost the economy half a billion dollars,

Suntracs leader Saúl Méndez said that they will not accept the “crumbs” proposed by Capac as part of the collective agreement in effect between 2018 and 2021 in spite of orchestrated media and social network attacks.