PANAMA: TAKING IT TO THE STREETS

UNCLAS PANAMA 000299

SIPDIS

DEPT OF STATE FOR DRL/ILCSR AND WHA/PPC
DEPT OF LABOR FOR DOL/ILAB
WHSR PASS TO USTR

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB OTRA PGOV PHUM PM
SUBJECT: PANAMA: TAKING IT TO THE STREETS

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SUMMARY
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1. (U) Panamanians regularly take to the streets to protest
a wide array of social and employment grievances. These
protests mire city residents, who already spend hours in
traffic due to the outdated road network and poor transit
system, in horrendous traffic jams for hours. More often
than not, these protests are successful as public officials
respond with concessions. Despite the inconvenience, these
protests are a part of Panamanian life and widely accepted as
a way to have one's grievances heard.

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Getting things done the Panama way
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2. (U) Panamanian citizens enjoy a strong culture of freedom
of expression in which they take to the streets on a weekly,
sometimes daily basis, to protest. The typical modus
operandi for protestors is to block main transportation
arteries during rush hour in order to call public attention
to their grievances. The refusal by the Panamanian National
Police (PNP) to intervene, even by moving demonstrators to
the sidewalk, ensures that even a group of 4-7 protestors can
effectively hold the city's commuters hostage. The
near-constant disruption of an already overburdened
transportation system results in paralysis of normal daily
traffic in Panama City, where no more than five major
arteries carry a majority of traffic flow and village-like
traffic patterns that are squeezed by constant construction
projects. These roads do not allow a driver to easily "go
around the block" to avoid congestion and alternate routes
are non-existent. A major source of daily irritation and
frustration for Panamanians of all social classes is the
dilapidated road and street system, which hangs by a thread
and can be brought to a city-wide halt by three protesters.
In Panama's interior, protestors use similar tactics to close
down the Inter-American Highway or the Panama City-Colon
Highway, creating traffic jams that extend for miles and take
hours to clear up.


3. (U) Panamanians of all stripes protest on a wide variety
of subjects. Topics and groups can vary from senior citizens
demanding an increase in their social security payments to a
neighborhood group calling attention to poor water or
electricity services in their area, to public employees such
as teachers or firefighters demanding pay raises, to
University of Panama students protesting against the cost of
living or taking to the streets to support another
organization's protest. Police authorities do appear at the
site of impromptu protests, but, terrified at the prospect of
being hit with abuse of force charges and accusations, they
do not intervene as long as the protest remains peaceful,
confining their duties to the alteration of traffic patterns
around the protest site, if possible.


4. (U) More often than not, protesters get what they want.
Government agencies and officials always respond publicly to
the concerns being aired by protesters, regardless of topic.
Additionally, protesters almost always can count on a meeting
with a government official to air their grievances and
usually, but not always, receive the promise of some kind of
financial benefit. Some of the most common users of this
model of social protest are public employees.

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Legal Strikes
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5. (U) Labor law in Panama provides for a formal strike
process that is overseen by the Ministry of Labor (MITRADEL).
The formal process requires employees to formally file
grievances with MITRADEL, which oversees a 15-day
conciliation period (with an option of two 10-day extensions)
before a legal strike can begin. In practice, this system is
largely used by private companies and their unions to settle
disputes about a collective bargaining agreement. Public
employees also have the right to utilize this process. Their
right is delineated in the Administrative Career Law, which
states that "Public servants in general will have the right
to: exercise the right to strike, in accordance with what is
established in this law." (Article 135 of Law 9 of June
1994). However, in practice public employees do not use this
legal method to settle grievances with their employers,
instead preferring the more efficacious informal protest.


6. (SBU) According to statistics provided by MITRADEL, 25
legal strikes were declared in 2007. Of these, 21 were
resolved by an accord between labor and management before the
declared strike could take place. Four strikes did take
place, of these, three were in the construction sector
(including a widely publicized strike between SUNTRACS union
and Pillar Construction in Bocas del Toro) and one was in the
commercial sector.


7. (SBU) In 2008, 113 strikes were declared, and six took
place, according to Rudolfo Stanziola, Director of Labor at
the Ministry of Labor (MITRADEL) in an April 8 interview.
(COMMENT: The large uptick in declared strikes can be
attributed in Post's estimation to the worldwide inflation in
food prices that took place in 2008 that eroded purchasing
power of lower and middle class individuals worldwide.)

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Taking it to the Streets
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8. (U) Described below is a sample of the public protest
actions undertaken by groups with issues of concern in Panama
in 2008-2009. (NOTE: The word "strike" as used in the
following paragraphs should not be understood describe a
legal process or status, as most, if not all, of these
"strikes" are not legal under Panamanian law. However, the
word is widely used to describe a situation where employees
stop working and/or publicly protest.)

January 2009: A strike was called by the National
Association of Administrative Officials of the Social
Security Fund (ANFACSS),who demanded from their employer,
the Social Security Fund (Caja de Seguro Social -- CSS) a
$300 productivity raise for all administrative employees,
plus a $75 monthly raise. The strike lasted 10 days, in
which the two groups publicly and privately made offers and
counteroffers. CSS administrators finally agreed to a $60
monthly salary raise beginning in June 2009 and an annual
$200 productivity bonus.

March 2009: A hunger strike was announced among inmates at
the Public Prison in Chorrera protesting food quality, lack
of medical attention and overcrowding. After one day,
penitentiary officials agreed to address concerns of inmates.

March 2009: There were several protests at schools in
Chiriqui and Cocle provinces on the first day of school by
teachers demanding that school buildings be repaired
immediately. In Colon, the Technical and Professional
Institute teachers did not give classes to protest building
conditions and the lack of equipment. Their protest lasted
three days, after which they reached an agreement with
provincial and education ministry officials. Also, Education
Minister Castro agreed to meet with them in March to discuss
their concerns.

Fall/Winter 2008: Throughout the fall and winter of 2008,
protests were held weekly, sometimes daily, to demand the
prosecution and removal from government of the then-Minister
of Government and Justice. A series of investigative reports
in the daily newspaper "La Prensa" accused the Minister of
perpetrating a number of crimes during the military
dictatorship, including the murder of a subordinate. In
December, the attorney general charged the Minister with
homicide, and shortly thereafter he was replaced by the
President.

November/December 2007: More than 3,000 physicians (public
employees) who were represented by the National Negotiating
Medical Commission (COMENAL) struck for 39 days, demanding a
60% pay increase and a stop to any plans to privatize the
health care system. Their employer, the CSS, eventually
agreed to a 23% pay increase plus a productivity bonus that
will be paid twice per year. In return, physicians agreed to
make plans to recover thousands of medical appointments lost
during the strike. CSS also assured the doctors that "the
door remains closed" to privatization.

April 2008: Chilibre community residents closed the
Boyd-Roosevelt Highway for several hours in one day to
protest the fact that they had lacked drinking water for two
weeks. National Aqueduct and Sewer System (IDAAN) officials
explained that the reason for lack of water was that
pipelines were being repaired, and agreed to bring water
trucks to the area until repairs were completed.

June 2008: A two-day, partial public transportation strike
took place as bus owners and drivers demanded that the
government increase their fuel subsidy and end the
"Transmovil" transportation modernization project. Taxi
drivers organized a caravan to the Presidential palace to
demonstrate their concerns as well. University of Panama
students in Panama City closed a major transportation artery
for several hours to support the strike. In some areas,
buses were forcibly stopped and passengers forced to
disembark. Strikers set fire to tires on the roads. As a
result, the Minister of Commerce and Industry announced that
the government would increase the diesel fuel subsidy for the
transportation sector to help it cope with rising prices.

July 2008: More than 650 guards at penitentiaries nationwide
(Tinajitas, La Joyita, the Colon Public Jail, most of the
guards at the women's jail, some at El Renacer, the Nueva
Esperanza Minors Custody Center and the La Chorrera Public
Jail) conducted a "hands down strike," demanding an increase
in wages, increased security, a solution to personnel
shortages as well as an increase in the quality of food and
sanitation at the jails. Penitentiary System Director Luis
Gordon reacted by admitting that there was a problem, and
that his administration was promoting salary increases. He
also asked the Finance Ministry for a special loan to deal
with these issues and to hire more guards.

September 2008: More than 30 organizations from a variety of
sectors (transportation, education, health workers,
physicians construction workers and university students,
among others) participated in one-day a nationwide strike on
September 4. The strike, which was organized by the National
Front for the Defense of Social Rights (FRENADESO) demanded a
general salary increase, a freezing of the basic food basket
prices, lower fuel prices and to express objection with
proposals to privatize the health sector, in addition to
other more parochial concerns. In response, the Vice
President claimed that the government was already taking
corrective measures to address the stated concerns. He
pointed out that during the Torrijos administration,
employment had dropped to 6.7% and more than 80,000 new jobs
had been created. He also noted that the Torrijos government
had introduced the Compita program, which provides basic
staple foods at low or no cost. Anticipation of the general
strike was high, but as large numbers of Panamanian families
chose to stay home, many businesses closed for the day and
some government offices were closed, the impact was minimal.
The coordinating organizations declared the strike a success.

April 2009: Workers for Estrella Azul (milk producers)
struck for 8 days and received a salary increase of 35 cents
per hour over the next 4 years.

February 2009: Physicians, dentists, nurses and paramedics
employed by the Penal System suspended at the last minute a
planned strike after reaching an accord with their employer,
the Ministry of Government and Justice, whoagreed to improve
working conditions, increase the medical budget and recognize
a new salary scale.
STEPHENSON