The Brazilian-born leader gave a keynote speech in Panama City invited by the National Confederation of Independent Trade Union (CONUSI), as part of a forum on trade union freedom, collective bargaining, and democracy.
For Freire, the Panamanian workers’ problems about the violation of their fundamental rights is of concern for his organization, consisting of 53 trade union centers and 56 million affiliated workers.
He pointed out that there is no democracy without free trade unions, and recalled the Declaration of Philadelphia, promulgated on May 10, 1944, the current charter of the International Labor Organization (ILO), which establishes that the worker is not a commodity and freedom of speech and association are essential, among other principles.
That founding document also reminds us that poverty everywhere threatens prosperity and lasting peace must be based on social justice.
CONUSI General Secretary Marco Andrade debated these and other issues in depth at the seminar held at the University of Panampa, to better prepare the working class for upcoming struggles, such as the defense of Panama’s Social Security Fund (CSS), which is being privatized.
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