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ASECOTEL opposes postal privatisation - Panama

Published: 22 November 2010
Google translate: 

 Panama City. As a result of the recent Panama’s President statements, announcing the privatisation of the Postal and Telegraph Services, COTEL, the Association of Employees, ASECOTEL, through its President, colleague Ismael Ruiz, summoned postal workers to an Extraordinary General Assembly to define a union strategy to face the impending privatisation.



The President of the Association has pointed out and repeatedly stated from the moment the new government took office, that COTEL would be the first public company to suffer staff cutbacks through a massive dismissal plan, which was stopped exclusively by the actions of international solidarity promoted by UNI Americas.



It is also important to highlight that for some time, ASECOTEL has been denouncing the government’s manoeuvres aimed at the precarisation of Panamanian postal delivery services with the intention of smoothing their way to privatisation.



The Extraordinary General Assembly was attended by almost 150 workers, who unanimously agreed on nine action points, among which the most important are the following:



1. ASECOTEL does not oppose to the modernisation of postal services in Panama, but completely disagrees about the privatisation of postal services, as a result of modalities not completely clarified by the current administration.

2. ASECOTEL requests complete transparency on the part of national government’s authorities as regards the issue of modernisation, and demands to actively participate in every instance of the taking decision process in relation to the subject.

3. ASECOTEL maintains full legitimacy and complete representation of postal worker’s at the national level. That involves exercising the position of the union’s official spokespeople, and directly participating in any negotiation held in defence of the Panamanian postal workers’ labour rights, which the organisation represents.



For further information contact cenise.monteiro@uniglobalunion.org