Observación (CEACR) - Adopción: 2025, Publicación: 114ª reunión CIT (2026)

Convenio sobre la libertad sindical y la protección del derecho de sindicación, 1948 (núm. 87) - Panamá (Ratificación : 1958)

The Committee notes the joint observations of the National Council of Organized Workers (CONATO) and the National Confederation of United Independent Unions (CONUSI), sent by the Government, and the joint observations of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the Trade Union Confederation of Workers of the Americas (TUCA) and the Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI), received on 3 September 2025. The Committee also notes the Government’s reply to these union observations, which was received on 17 November 2025.

The Committee notes, firstly, that the above-mentioned observations contain allegations of serious violations of the rights of the Single National Union of Construction and Allied Industry Workers (SUNTRACS) and its leaders by the public authorities (allegations of criminalization of the union’s activity, cases of detention of leaders and financial asphyxiation of the organization). The Committee observes that the allegations, including the adoption of Ministerial Decision No. DM-063-2025, approving the procedure for depositing and delivering union dues to the conciliation fund of the Ministry of Labour and Labour Development (Ministry of Labour), are being examined by the Committee on Freedom of Association (CFA) in the context of Case No. 3456 and that the CFA adopted an interim report in this respect in March 2025 (409th Report, paras 260–285).

Secondly, the Committee notes that, in addition to referring to matters examined by the Committee in the present comment, the union observations allege the existence of a systematic policy of persecution and criminalization of trade unionism in Panama. The Committee notes that the ITUC, TUCA and BWI allege in particular that a strike held by teachers affiliated to the United Panamanian Teachers’ Association between April and July 2025 in defence of the right to retirement reportedly gave rise to violent and sustained repression and to arbitrary arrests. Recalling that the peaceful exercise of trade union rights should not give rise to arrests or imprisonment and that the intervention of the police should be in proportion to the threat to public order which it seeks to control, the Committee requests the Government to provide its comments on the observations of the ITUC, TUCA and BWI.

Tripartite committees. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the important contribution of the Compliance Committee and the Committee for the Rapid Handling of Complaints relating to Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining (the tripartite committees), established by the Panama tripartite agreement of 2012 with ILO technical assistance, regarding the application of Conventions Nos 87 and 98 in the country.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the tripartite committees still exist and that their decisions taken by consensus are respected, while reiterating that they have not been operating since April 2020 because of a major disagreement among the trade unions regarding criteria for representativeness. The Committee notes that the national and international trade union confederations claim that the Government has not taken any action to restore the functioning and operational capability of the tripartite committees and CONATO and CONUSI indicate their willingness to appoint representatives to facilitate the relaunch of these committees’ activities. The Committee regrets the lack of progress on the reactivation of the tripartite committees.

The Committee reiterates the continued importance of the functioning of both committees for the application of the Convention, especially in the current context of collective labour relations in the country. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary steps, in consultation with the social partners and with ILO technical support, to reactivate the functioning of the tripartite committees in the near future, seeking a prompt solution regarding the representativeness of the various trade union organizations which comprise them. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the measures taken in this respect.

Higher Labour Council. The Committee recalls that, under a memorandum of understanding signed in 2016 regarding the Panama tripartite agreement of 2012, a Higher Labour Council (CST) was due to be established. The Committee notes the Government’s indications that: (i) the Bill to create the Higher Labour Council submitted on 31 January 2024 was rejected, and was referred to another parliamentary body for more intensive examination, and no new action has been taken by the National Assembly for its approval; and (ii) other dialogue forums are operating such as the Labour Foundation (FUNTRAB), composed of employers’ organizations and trade unions. The Committee also notes the observations of the trade union confederations to the effect that: (i) the late submission of the Bill for the establishment of the CST hampered its approval and that its adoption should be promoted by the tripartite committee; and (ii) FUNTRAB is setting itself up as an institutional reference point for social dialogue, even though this is a body which has not been set up for such purposes, which raises issues of representativeness. Once again underlining the special importance, in the current context of the country, of strengthening and institutionalizing tripartite social dialogue, the Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on any measures taken in consultation with the social partners to overcome the obstacles encountered in the adoption of the Bill.

Legislative matters. The Committee recalls that for many years it has been commenting on a series of national legislative provisions which raise problems of conformity with the Convention:

Article 2 of the Convention. Right of workers and employers without distinction whatsoever to establish and join organizations:

• the requirement that there may not be more than one association in a public institution, and that associations may have provincial or regional chapters, but not more than one chapter per province, under the terms of sections 179 and 182 of the Single Text of Act No. 9, as amended by Act No. 43 of 31 July 2009;
• the requirement of too large a membership (ten) for the establishment of an employers’ organization and an even larger membership (40) for the establishment of a workers’ organization at the enterprise level, under the terms of section 41 of Act No. 44 of 1995 (amending section 344 of the Labour Code), and the requirement of a high number of members (40) to establish an organization of public servants under section 182 of the Single Text of Act No. 9 (which, as indicated by the Government, has been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, in a ruling of 30 December 2015); and
• the denial to public servants (non-career public servants, as well as those holding appointments governed by the Constitution and those who are elected and serving) of the right to establish unions.

Article 3. Right of organizations to elect their representatives in full freedom:

• the requirement to be of Panamanian nationality in accordance with the Constitution in order to serve on the executive board of a trade union.

Right of organizations to organize their activities and to formulate their programmes in full freedom:

• legislation interfering with the activities of employers’ and workers’ organizations (sections 452(2), 493(4) and 494 of the Labour Code); the obligation for non-members to pay a solidarity contribution in recognition of the benefits derived from collective bargaining (section 405 of the Labour Code); and the automatic intervention of the police in the event of a strike (section 493(1) of the Labour Code); and
• the prohibition on federations and confederations from calling strikes, the prohibition on strikes against the Government’s economic and social policies and on strikes not related to an enterprise collective agreement; the authority of the Regional or General Labour Directorate to refer labour disputes to compulsory arbitration in private transport enterprises (sections 452 and 486 of the Labour Code); and the obligation to provide minimum services with 50 per cent of the staff in the transport sector, as well as the penalty of summary dismissal of public servants for failure to maintain minimum services (sections 155 and 192 of the Single Text of 29 August 2008, as amended by Act No. 43 of 31 July 2009).

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the creation of the Presidential Secretariat for the Reorganization of the State and Constitutional Matters (SEPRESAC), which has among its functions the promotion of a process of constitutional reform, offers an opportunity to review the requirement of having Panamanian nationality to be a member of a union executive committee. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the progress made, in the context of the constituent procedure for which SEPRESAC is responsible, to amend this provision of the Constitution and ensure its conformity with the Convention.

The Committee notes with regret that: (i) the Government states that, in the case of legislation applicable to the private sector, no progress has been achieved on account of the inactivity of the tripartite Compliance Committee, a forum in which it was agreed to address the subject of bringing the Labour Code into line with the Convention; and (ii) after the Bill on collective labour relations in the public sector was not adopted in the Legislative Assembly, no other draft legislation has been proposed that addresses the legislative issues raised by the Committee for a number of years. The Committee recalls that the Committee on Freedom of Association expressed confidence that the Government would adopt legislation to regulate the establishment, registration and functioning of public sector trade unions at the earliest opportunity in accordance with the principles of freedom of association and collective bargaining, and referred these legislative aspects to the Committee of Experts (389th Report, June 2019, Case No. 3317, para. 527). The Committee also recalls that the guarantees established in the Convention are applicable to all workers without distinction, including state employees. The Committee once again urges the Government, without delay and in consultation with the social partners, to take the necessary steps to bring its legislation on collective labour relations in the public sector, as well as the outstanding legislative matters relating to the private sector, into conformity with the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the progress achieved in this respect and reminds the Government that it may avail itself of ILO technical assistance.

Application of the Convention in practice. Granting of legal personality by the administrative authority. With regard to the standardization of granting legal personality to trade unions, especially in the public sector, the Committee notes that the Government: (i) reports on two applications to acquire legal personality submitted in 2022, four in 2023 and 14 in 2024, of which only two relate to public sector organizations; and (ii) indicates that expediting the procedures requires sufficient staff and budgetary allocations, and that although no specific measures have been adopted to streamline the processes, it is hoped to identify opportunities for improvement. The Committee also notes that CONATO and CONUSI claim that the delays are part of a policy aimed at obstructing the establishment of unions, which includes the application of discretionary criteria, and refer to 14 cases in which registration applications have been rejected, five of which relate to the digital platform sector. The Committee observes that while the trade unions report a significant number of cases in which these applications are rejected, it is not possible to see from the information provided by the Government how many of the applications received between 2022 and 2024 were rejected. Furthermore, the Committee observes that the information provided by the Government reveals that in 12 of the 20 applications referred to by the Government, the time elapsed between the submission of the application and registration exceeded one year. Noting that the processing times for decisions on granting legal status are excessive, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary steps to expedite these procedures and provide detailed information on the standardization of the process for granting legal personality to public sector organizations, and also on the number of applications for legal personality received that are rejected by the administrative authority.

Compensatory guarantees. The Committee recalls that it asked the Government to provide detailed information on the effectiveness of the dispute settlement procedures established as compensatory guarantees in the Panama Canal. The Committee notes that the Government adds that since mid-2000 the trade unions have filed 402 proceedings against the Panama Canal Authority, including 324 complaints relating to unfair labour practices, 59 requests for the settlement of disputes on negotiability, 12 requests regarding the resolution of deadlock in negotiations and nine complaints for non-compliance, and that out of the total number of proceedings indicated, 335 have been completed. While taking due note of these figures, the Committee requests the Government to provide further information on the above-mentioned dispute settlement proceedings, indicating in particular their duration and the types of settlement achieved.

[The Government is asked to reply in full to the present comments in 2027 .]