Yuliza Serracin | April 1, 2023
On the night of Friday, March 31, the firefighters ended the sit-down strike, after an extensive high-level meeting was held with authorities from the National Government and the Panama Firefighters Union.
The firefighters, with several protests at the national level, demanded compliance with the promotions established in June of last year.
The National Government promised to honor the content of the agreement signed on June 6, 2022 during fiscal year 2023.
For its part, the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) said that it will guarantee the allocation of budgetary resources for the promotions of the units that belong to the Meritorious Fire Department of the Republic of Panama (BCBRP) seeking the appropriate legal mechanisms.
For the units that are about to take advantage of their special retirement during the 2023 term, that are part of the general orders issued by the General Directorate of the BCBRP, he added that the remuneration of the last rank that corresponds from the perfection of the action of corresponding personnel.
On Thursday, April 13, 2023, a joint participation technical table will be set up between representatives of the Ministries of Economy and Finance, Government; the Benemérito Cuerpo de Bomberos de la República de Panamá and representatives of the Union of Firefighters of the Republic of Panama with the objective of establishing the methodology, classifying the cases, in order to modify the position structure of the institution.
Finally, the signed document establishes that the parties agree to work in harmonious collaboration to comply with the agreement.
The meeting that began in the morning hours lasted for more than 12 hours and was led by the Minister of Government, Roger Tejada; the Vice Minister in charge of Finance, Carlos González and the General Secretary of the Ministry of Government, Cristóbal Tuñon with the Firefighters Union of the Republic of Panama. In the meeting, in addition to budget issues and promotions, the acquisition of equipment was discussed.
