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Roads Reopen to Bocas as Situation Calms
Posted by Editor | July 12, 2010 | Categories: Government and Politics, Transport | Comments Off
Things have calmed down around Changuinola, Panama, as negotiations continue between union leaders, the Panamanian government and the Bocas Banana Company. The Changuinola Airport is open again. The curfew has been lifted and business are opening there doors again. The roads are open and traffic is flowing freely again for now.
The governor of the northern Panamanian province of Bocas del Toro, Bonifacio Abrego, said Sunday that he had decided against declaring a curfew for the city of Changuinola. Abrego said that calm had returned to the city after three days of violent confrontation between striking banana workers and police. The province of Bocas del Toro borders Costa Rica on the Caribbean coast.
Meanwhile, the Panamanian president, Ricardo Martinelli, vowed that he would uphold the controversial Law 30, which was the cause of the strike.
On Saturday, the Panamanian government ordered the reopening of the Changuinola airport, and police confirmed that the highway that connects the city to the rest of the country had been cleared. The road had been blocked for three days by strikers.
“The problems in Changuinola have been the product of misinformation and a series of lies,” Martinelli said in a press statement issued Sunday. “The intransigence of a group of trade unionists can not end with the banana industry in Changuinola.”
The conflict emerged when the Bocas Fruit Company withheld the portion of workers’ salaries that normally goes toward paying union fees. The company subtracted the union membership fee in response to a recently enacted law that makes such fees optional.
“The government regrets the misunderstanding on the part of this company,” the Martinelli administration said in a press statement. “It is not in the power of this business, nor any other, to retain workers’ salaries because it constitutes a violation of workers’ rights.”
Under the law, the employees must decide whether to pay membership fees and the decision cannot be made for them by their employers.
The protest ended Sunday, when the government signed an agreement with the striking workers. According to the document posted on the Panamanian government website, the original law will not be changed, yet, the government committed to providing more resources to help workers confront the high cost of living.
While roads and the border are open again, shuttle companies such as Caribe Shuttle are holding off on resuming service for a few days while they monitor the situation and make sure the route is safe to travel.
Sources: Caribe Shuttle, Tico Times.
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