labor

Union head urges changes

Mariano Mena, leader of the Central General de Trabajadores, said yesterday that the economic growth in Panama has not been a boon to many of its residents.

The union leader was speaking at the congress that will create the Confederación Sindical de las Américas, an organization that will represent millions of workers. It will be formed by the merger of the Organización Regional Interamericana de Trabajadores and the Central Latinoamericana de Trabajadores.

Mena urged President Martín Torrijos to implement policies that will better distribute the economic growth that Panama has experienced.

"Panama is generating many millions, but also a great deal of poverty," Mena said. Torrijos, the congress's featured guest, said that his government has used the country's economic prosperity to start fighting poverty.

He pointed to economic programs such as the one that will use revenue from the Panama Canal to address social problems, as well as the expansion of scholarships and increases in the minimum wage.

In addition to leaders from the two unions involved in the event, it is also being attended by Guy Ryder, of the Confederación Sindical Internacional.