Updated on
Summary
Protests by striking banana plantation workers and Panama Canal builders left one man dead in clashes with police and dozens injured as labor unrest erupted in Panama. At least one man died as riot police firing tear-gas battled banana plantation workers in western Panama who had blocked roads in a strike near the town of Changuinola. The labour stoppage began last week to protest a new law that weakens unions. In a separate incident, 48 striking workers on a $5.25 billion project to widen and deepen the Panama Canal were fired and at least six were arrested after refusing to return to work, said Luis Ernesto Carles, a deputy minister of labor. The unrest follows a bill signed by President Ricardo Martinelli last month that dents union power and gives companies the right to suspend the contracts of striking workers and hire replacements.
