Firefighters meet with government on second day of strike

The union of  Panama Firefighters entered the second day of a countrywide strike on Friday, demanding that the government comply with previous agreements on salary adjustments and promotions.

The protest action is carried out at the national level and the leadership reported that it will only respond to emergencies such as structural fires, accidents where people are trapped, or the presence of Africanized bees that put people’s lives at risk.

On Friday morning a meeting began at the headquarters of the Ministry of Economy and Finance between the leadership of the firefighters and government representatives. As of noon, an understanding had not yet been reached between the parties.

In the capital city, the firefighters carried out a caravan and mobilized the fire trucks through some roads of the capital city such as Calle 50 and Via España. They also passed through the vicinity of the MEF, near the National Sanctuary.

The Executive informed that in parallel to the conversations, work is being done on internal audits and the review of the files of promoted firefighters. Likewise, recommendations will be made for an administrative modernization of the entire Institution.

“Until now, it has been possible to establish the real level of the internal administrative problem in the institution, the way in which the promotions were given, the effective availability of economic resources to deal with these rank promotions, and likewise, it has been possible to confirm that the structure of positions in the entity has not been altered”, is reflected in a statement from the Ministry of Government.