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Conato demands wage increases, price freeze

Workers unions say President Torrijos has until the end of the month to respond to their demands.

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urgent: Workers union secretary Alfredo Berrocal urged the government to take immediate action to control rising prices. 1063622

During a press conference yesterday, the Consejo Nacional de Trabajadores Organizados (Conato) gave President Martín Torrijos until the end of the month to respond to the union’s list of demands, which it plans to deliver within the next few days.

Guillermo Puga, secretary general of the Central de Trabajadores de la República de Panamá, said that the government will have until the last week of July to give a reply. Otherwise, he said, union members will meet in early August to discuss calling a strike.

Conato’s list of 19 demands includes a general increase in salaries, a freeze on prices of goods in the basic food basket and a revision of the minimum wage.

“We’ve asked the government to review the high cost of living and, until now, our complaints have fallen on deaf ears,” said Alfredo Berrocal, secretary general of the Federación Nacional de Servidores Públicos. “The authorities and corporate sector must understand that it’s imperative to act now to avoid incalculable social consequences.”

Conato has, so far, rejected the proposals from members of the Frente Nacional por los Derechos Sociales (Frenadeso) calling for strikes, claiming that it would hurt the community.