Labor Minister Threatens To Take Over Administration Of Panama Canal Expansion Company
Labor Minister Alma Cortés warned today she would sanction the Grupo Unidos por el Canal and would not accept GUPC's excuse that their software was wrong because she will not set a bad precedent. "What I did tell the company was that we are not going to permit their excuse that the software was wrong, because if I allow that thesis, then I will have to allow it for I don't know how many other companies in the country, and that would set a bad precedent," said Cortez. So far, the consortium led by the Spanish company Sacyr and also comprised of Italy's Impregilo, Belgium's Jan de Nul and the Panamanian company CUSA, have excused themselves, saying that "we had implemented a new payroll system that despite three successful tests conducted together with the supplier, there was an error in the amount paid to workers for the first half of January."
Labor Minister Cortes said she could not understand why the striking construction workers have not make an official request through the correct legal channels so that "we can take over the administration (of the company) and verify their accounts." So far, the MITRADEL authorities have repeated they will sanction the company with fines as established in the Penal Code for breach of contract with the workers, but they had not (yet) raised the possibility of taking over the administration of the company.
The Panama Canal Authority appealed to the parties to reach an agreement, but said other parts of the project to expand the Panama Canal are ongoing and that the waterway is providing normal service, because the strikers did not work for the Panama Canal Authority. (TVN)
Editor's Comment: Holy shit! The Ministry of Labor might take over the administration of GUPC? And if you look at the video of the statements made by the Labor Minister, she is practically "coaching" the workers to make this request. She said it like "I don't know why that haven't asked us to do this..." meaning, if you ask, we will do it. Wow. The statements being made by the Panama Canal Authority are clearly an effort to assuage the worries of the international shipping community. This strike is now in its fourth day, and all of the international news wires are starting to pick it up. The Panama Canal Authorities message - that the Panama Canal is operating normally, that other parts of the expansion are continuing normally, and that the striking workers don't work for the Panama Canal - are aimed at them. But the part of the project affected by the strike is the critically important construction of the third set of locks on both ends of the new canal. That part of the project is already behind schedule, and it's slipping further and further with each passing day. And in her statements and actions Labor Minister Cortés has repeatedly expressed her support for the position of the workers. Why? Maybe Martinelli wants to take over the administration of this consortium in order to get a better look at their inner workings? Maybe he's reading Panama Guide and he knows they are falling way behind schedule? Maybe he knows that if he was running the expansion program himself it would be more efficient? Maybe there's nothing else left to take over? It's probably a combination of all of those things. Stand by, this one could get really, really interesting.
