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The present essay aims to analyze the meaning and scope of the legal regulation of freedom of association and the right to social protest, in order to compare them with the actions taken by the national government against the Single Union of Construction Workers and Similar Industries (SUNTRACS), and to determine whether the standards applied are consistent with the relevant national and international legal framework, as well as whether these actions could affect the rule of law in Panama.
For this purpose, we conduct a doctrinal analysis of the content and purpose of Collective Labor Law as the branch of law that regulates freedom of association, collective bargaining agreements, and the right to strike, which are inseparable elements for understanding the exercise of this freedom.
At the international level, we examine the fundamental principles of the right to organize as established in ILO Conventions Nos. 87 and 98, the United Nations Covenants, and the American Convention on Human Rights. In this regard, we review the decisions of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association concerning these matters.
Finally, we also examine the provisions of the Constitution and the Labor Code and compare them with the grounds invoked in the lawsuit seeking the dissolution of SUNTRACS, in order to determine whether the proposed measure is compatible with the full exercise of freedom of association, the right to social protest, and the preservation of the rule of law in Panama.
Este obra está bajo una licencia de Creative Commons Reconocimiento-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 4.0 Internacional.
