|
|
|
|
|||
|
| |||
business & economy
Also in this section:
Seguro strikes over --- for now by Eric Jackson, mainly from other media Nepotism, corruption, autocracy, violence against women, demagoguery, political machinations and lies about money --- all of these issues have raised their heads in some labor strife that began when the government, which a year ago claimed that the Social Security Fund (CSS) had been fixed, feigned insolvency in contract talks with unions representing some Seguro Social employees. The National Association of Social Security Fund Administrative Functionaries (ANFACSS), then led by Lawrence Allen, and the Association of Social Security Fund Employees (AECSS), led by Priscila Vásquez, went on strike footing when the government said that there was no money for pay raises because the Social Security Fund is broke. But the two unions behaved quite differently. Lawrence Allen is the son of Colon activist and National Council of Organized Labor (CONATO) board of directors member Marcos Allen. The elder Allen ran as a Liberal for legislator on the Mireyista slate in 2004 and was soundly thrashed. Later played a role in trying to break last year's Seguro Social strike and in the expulsion of the militant CONUSI labor federation and its biggest and most successful component, the SUNTRACS construction workers union, from CONATO. With the PRD-aligned FENASEP government workers union the main exception, CONATO is for the most part a collection of company unions that exist primarily for the benefit of the employers and for the officers of those unions. It has proven a reliable ally for successive governments. Priscila Vásquez, a clinical psychologist by profession, is a leftist who has her differences with the leaders of SUNTRACS, CONUSI and the FRENADESO labor/left umbrella coalition about the issue of political involvement. She is in favor of a leftist political party based in the labor unions, while SUNTRACS secretary general Genaro López and other militant labor leaders believe that if this were tried at this time it would divert the labor movement's engergies into a series of personal battles over who gets which political nomination or perk. On the substantive political issues, including the canal expansion referendum, there is not much difference between Vásquez and FRENADEDO's leaders. In mid-August the unions threatened strike actions, and raised picket lines during lunch hours. ANFACSS members blocked the Transistmica in front of the Arnulfo Arias Madrid Hospital Complex. Both ANFACSS and AECSS, and also the National Association of Manual Laborers (ANADETRAM), which represents other Seguro Social workers, went to the bargaining table with the CSS management. One of the tendencies among Panama's most successful militant labor leaders is a keen sense of what the market will bear. They sometimes get beaten in political showdowns, but in contract talks they tend to demand the moon at first and settle for more down-to-earth provisions, usually without strikes or with only brief ones, in the end. Vásquez is one of those. Her union prepared for a strike and mounted protests, but she went to the bargaining table with the aim of getting AECSS at least a modest raise. And on August 23 when Vásquez went to negotiate with CSS director René Luciani, Allen sent a crowd of ANFACSS people to break up the meeting. Allen told La Prensa that he had heard that Vásquez was prepared to sign a contract and "we couldn't permit this." In several of the daily newspapers ANFACSS member Gabriel Pascual was prominently portrayed laying hands on Vásquez. (AECSS did not, however, reach an agreement in its talks with management.) It was played up in the government-aligned media as a matter of rank-and-file workers repudiating Vásquez, but to many observers it had all the appearance of a stocky male laying hands on a diminutive woman. After that, ANFACSS called a definitive strike and ANADETRAM walked out with them. Five days later Allen sat down with Luciani and signed an agreement calling for modest wage increases over four years, purporting to ratify it, both for his union and other CSS workers, with his signature. But both the rank-and-file members of ANFACSS and the ANADETRAM immediately repudiated the agreement and the ANFACSS council of delegates voted on September 4 to remove Allen as secretary general and initiate proceedings to throw him out of the union altogether. Omar Cousins was appointed acting secretary general in his place. The supposed agreement and internal turmoil in ANFACSS, meanwhile, pretty much ended the strike, for the time being. Plus, now the government says that it has an agreement that it argues binds not only Allen's former union but all the other Seguro Social workers. It's essentially the same tactic that the Torrijos administration has employed with teachers. Allen blames his troubles on his predecessor, Gerardo González, and on FRENADESO. He challenges the authority of the ANFACSS Council of Deputies to remove him because he did not call their meeting. Martín Torrijos is following a policy of provoking strikes in order to portray those who opposed his administration and advocate a "no" vote in the October 22 referendum as a bunch of thugs. But the Allens, who were behind some of the street blockades that Torrijos blames on FRENADESO, are for the "yes" side. The real labor militants are for the most part avoiding the government's bait, although there are calls within ANFACSS and ANADETRAM to renew the walkout. However, in a month and a half or so, the referendum will have happened and Seguro workers will still be working without a contract they recognize and that well may lead to a new and far more serious strike.
Also in this section:
News |
Business
|
Editorial
|
Opinion
|
Letters
|
Arts
|
Review
|
Community
|
Fun
|
Travel Make the
Executive Hotel your headquarters in Panama City --- http://ww.executivehotel-panama.com Find the boat of your dreams through Evermarine --- http://www.evermarine.com |
|||||||||||
|
