Ordinary workers have demanded an end to the speculation that has led to the ever-higher prices ofbasic food and medicines. Leaders from nine trade unions yesterday held a protest in front of the Panamanian Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, asking the government to take effective measures to tackle inflation.
Miguel Angel Edward, General Secretary of Convergencia Sindical, explained that workers wanted to drive the message home to both the government and business owners that they too hadthe right to benefit from the economic growth that Panama has enjoyed over the past 10 years.
According to Mr. Edward, the critical state of national education and healthcare highlighted the deficienciesof those who govern the country as well as those who control it economically.
Workers' representatives argued that neither thegovernment nor business owners have showed any interest in making sure that ordinary workers receive decent salaries. According to Convergencia Sindical, as at December 2015 an ordinary family of four needed a minimum salary of $1100 in order to cover its basic necessities (education, healthcare, basicservices, food and clothing, as well as recreation).
Another trade union, Conato, pointed out how the cost of living has increased by three per cent between December 2013 and December 2015, meaning that purchasing power of $1 had fallen to 97¢. As an example, Conato referred to the average salary of retail workers, estimated at $530.40, whose purchasing power has fallen to $514.48.
Others, such as Nelva Reyes, of the Central General Autonoma de Trabajadores de Panama (CGTP), invoked an extension of price control measures from food to medication. "The degree of malnutrition among children whose parents cannot afford to buy milk formula is plainly unfair" she declared, "as is ordinary workers’ inability to purchase basic medicines".
According to the economics and finance ministry (MEF), the cost of the basic basket of foodstuff had reached $307.21 in May 2016, up from $300.29 a year earlier. Meanwhile, consumer price index statistics showed the cost of basic healthcare suffering a four per cent year-on-year increase in June 2016.
Trade union representatives also voiced their concerns about increasing unemployment, which they attributed to the slowness of the current administration in executing investment projects. Official figures showed that unemployment reached 5.6% as of March 2016, while informal employment was as high as 39.9% as at August 2015. The slowdown in construction has been widely attributed to excessive government bureaucracy.
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Redacción Economía/ @PanamaAmerica
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