The Building and Wood Workers' International (BWI), representing over 12 million workers in 117 countries, strongly condemns the Panamanian government’s escalating repression against our affiliate SUNTRACS, the National Union of Workers in Construction and Similar Industries. This is not merely an attack on one union; it is a grave violation of freedom of association, the right to collective bargaining, and the rule of law.

Since November 2023, SUNTRACS has faced arrests, intimidation, and financial blockades for leading protests against the mining law and proposed social security reforms. The crackdown has intensified in recent weeks, with union offices raided, bank accounts frozen, legal status revoked, and the entire union leadership, including BWI Deputy President Saúl Méndez and SUNTRACS Secretaries Jaime Caballero and Genaro Lopez, facing arrest warrants or imprisonment on spurious charges.

These attacks come amid a national strike launched on 28 April. Over 120 SUNTRACS members, rank-and-file and leadership alike, are being prosecuted for exercising their right to protest.

These events mark a dangerous escalation in a context already marked by prolonged strikes, public demonstrations, and years of institutional pressure on SUNTRACS. They have raised urgent concerns about the right to freedom of association, the right to peaceful assembly, and the protection of trade union representatives. These are principles that lie at the heart of international labour standards.

BWI recalls the March 2025 recommendations of the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association (Case No. 3456), which called on the Government of Panama to ensure SUNTRACS’ full access to its union funds and guarantee protective measures for its leadership. These recommendations remain unheeded.

We reaffirm that the right of workers to organise, protest, and represent their interests through trade unions is a cornerstone of any democratic society. Criminalising legitimate union activity undermines not only national dialogue and social peace, but also international commitments to labour rights.

Where trade union freedoms are undermined, democracy itself is weakened. They are essential pillars of a democratic society, ensuring that workers can participate fully and freely in shaping the conditions in which they work and live.

BWI calls on the Panamanian government to immediately comply with ILO recommendations and end its persecution of SUNTRACS. BWI calls for the immediate withdrawal of arrest warrants against SUNTRACS leaders, the release of those detained, and the full restoration of trade union rights and guarantees in Panama.

We urge all trade unions, civil society partners, and democratic institutions to support SUNTRACS and to stand in defence of trade union freedoms.

Union repression anywhere is a threat to workers everywhere.

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