Strike action that had been planned today by Panama Canal expansion project workers was called off yesterday following 'last effort' talks.

The National Union of Workers of Construction and Similar Industries (Suntracs) representing some 6,000 workers had threatened industrial action in a row over pay, but yesterday reached a deal with organization United for the Canal Group (GUPC).

The GUPC acts as the worker contractor for the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), and according to local media it had been negotiating pay issues with Suntracs for two months.

A copy of the new contract posted on GUPC's website shows the deal involves a US$4.81 rise for skilled categories, and a 5% rise for other categories, retroactive from July 1.

The GUPC reiterated in a statement that it had already given workers pay rises last year, which were considered valid until the end of the contract. However, the group said it would make an 'additional financial sacrifice to avoid a strike that would affect the delivery schedule of the project again'.

It added the agreement had been reached on good terms as a result of a last effort between itself and the worker union.

According to the GUPC, the ACP has had no involvement in the negotiations, despite being the owner of the project and having 'a wide knowledge of the financial commitments that the GUPC has had to assume'.

An ACP representative told www.freshfruitportal.com the organization was 'pleased' a deal had been reached between the two entities.

In a statement, the ACP said the strike action would have affected the third set of locks on both the Atlantic and Pacific sides.

"The ACP hopes this agreement will mark the continuation of a harmonious working relationship, and with it, the guarantee of the completion of works within the timeframe established by the contractor, which currently stands at 93% complete," the statement said.

The expected completion date for the US$5.2 billion expansion project is now April 2016, according to the representative.

Delays equal to multimillion dollar losses

Website Laestrella.com.pa reported that at the beginning of the two-month negotiations, Suntracs had requested an 11% pay rise from GUPC and later dropped this to 8.9%, which would have represented an additional US$7 million in annual costs.

According to the publication, the GUPC asked the ACP to cover half of these additional costs, but the request was rejected.

Yesterday various other organizations urged a deal be reached between the GUPC and Suntracs, among them the Panamanian Chamber of Construction (Capac) and the Maritime Chamber of Panama.

Maritime Chamber of Panama president Vikash Deepak said the consequences of a delay caused by such strike action would have been extensive.

"For the ACP it would have represented a US$1 million per day, and for the canal's clients and users it would have been multimillion dollar losses because they would not be able to begin their passage through the locks on the scheduled date," Deepak was quoted as saying by Laestrella.com.pa.

Another local media publication, Telemetro.com, reported ACP executive Jorge De La Guardia had recently said a single day's worth of strike action would have led to weeks' worth of delays.

Photo: Panama Canal Expansion website

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