The positions of both parties in the negotiations to reach a collective agreement and end the construction workers’   strike is “irresponsible” says  Minister of Labor, Luis Ernesto Carles.

Meanwhile, the leader of the workers’ union,,  Suntracs said on Sunday, May 13 that the strikers will discuss  President Varela’s call for arbitration at an assembly in Parque Porras at 10 a.m. on Tuesday.

Varela made the appeal before jetting off to London, on a trip seen as unnecessary by over 85% in a poll of readers of La Prensa.

The negotiators, Suntracs and the employers’ Association (Capac) talked at the headquarters of the Ministry of Labor and Labor Development, but they failed to establish the collective agreement that will be in effect between 2018 and 2021.

The workers insist on an annual wage increase of 11%, while the employers have not budged from their initial offer of  1%. Lopez said that without an improved offer from Capac an agreement will be impossible to achieve.

The Labor Minister is worried, as the stoppage  on 620 projects distances investors and causes economic losses.

The strike, which began on April 18, has meant losses of $810 million for Panama’s economy, hit by another work stoppage at Balboa port.

The President and Vice-President are in London holding talks with airlines and business leaders to sell them on investing in the country.