Panama: Agreement for social dialogue in the graphical sector
“This act is a real symbol of how we want to confront the crisis in Panama,” said Minister of Labour and Labour Development Edwin Salamín Jaén.
On 4 March, Panama’s Minister of Labour, representatives of the Employers Chamber in the Graphical Industry (the Cámara Nacional de Artes Gráficas) , the Sindicato de Artes Gráficas de Panama and UNI Americas endorsed the Declaration of Buenos Aires, which established on a regional basis agreements on unionisation and collective bargaining.
“We are here, strengthening the fundamental Rights of the ILO, which my government endorses,” said Salamin, who visited UNI Global Union’s offices in Nyon in 2007 and met with General Secretary Philip Jennings to discuss areas of common interest.
“This is the culmination of a process that we have developed over several years since the signing of the Declaration of Buenos Aires, which has been adoped in Argentina, Chile and now Panama. Through this process we are building respect and harmony between workers and companies,” said Víctor Miranda, representative of the Cámara Nacional de Artes Gráficas de Panamá.
Pedro Hurtado, General Secretary of SITGRAF, said that “when there is maturity on the part of unions and companies we can advance our social dialogue in a way that benefits us all together.”
The act was endorsed by Labour Minister Salamín Jaén and Vice Minister Ricardo González, who acted as guarantors for the agreement. It was also signed by Víctor Miranda, of Imprenta Hernández, and Edgardo Averza of Webforma as representantives of the Cámara Nacional de Artes Gráficas. It was signed by the Sindicato de Artes Gráficas de Panamá General Secretary Pedro Hurtado and by the union’s Organising Secretary Bienvenido Napoleón Sánchez.
UNI Americas was represented by its Regional Secretary Rodolfo Benítez and by Director Marvin Largaespada. They were special invited guests of the UNI members and the national union centres CONATO and Convergencia Sindical.
Rodolfo Benítez said that this is a model that other sectors and countries should follow.
“These are instruments that facilitate our union work and let us support the values of real social dialogue,” he said.
The Buenos Aires Accord, signed by UNI Graphical and Conlatingraf in 2008, guarantees respect for the right to organise and collectively bargain and establishes mechanisms for social dialogue between companies and unions. Currently it has been ratified by the Ministers of Labour of Argentina, Chile and Panamá. The references to the common fight of unions and workers for decent work have been taken as a proposal for a law in the Argentinian Parliament.
For more information: marvin.largaespada@uniglobalunion.org