Workers denounce illegal dismissals by Panama airline

May 3, 2013

Workers of ITF-affiliate the Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Industria de la Aviación Civil y Similares (SIELAS) protested at Tocumen International Airport in Panama on 16 April against unfair dismissals by Copa Airlines.

SIELAS reported that over 24 workers were dismissed without notice, violating the provisions in Article 124 of the Labour Code of Panama. The code states that an employer must provide prior to dismissal a written notice to workers setting out the date of dismissal and the specific causes. An employer cannot subsequently claim other causes for the dismissal other than those declared in the notification.



The union claimed that the company had initially offered only half of the redundancy payment the workers were entitled to, before correcting that to disguise the fact that the dismissals were illegal. It also stated that many of the dismissed workers had suffered accidents because of poor workplace conditions or had been ill. 



SIELAS general secretary Cristóbal Sousa commented: "We are fighting for the reinstatement of the dismissed workers. We are going to continue taking actions against the company until they respect our labour rights and Panamanian laws."



Antonio Fritz, ITF Americas regional secretary, added: “This attitude of Copa is unacceptable. It not only violates Panamanian laws but is in bad faith with the workers. It has tried to hide the fact of these dismissals being illegal. It's shameful that COPA behaves like this, including against injured workers.”