BWI affiliate the Union of Construction Workers (SUNTRACS) of Panama carried out a series of occupational health and safety activities throughout the month of April culminating in today’s official activity to commemorate the International Workers’ Memorial Day and highlight the importance of safe workplaces.

The event, which drew eight hundred workers was held at the Pacific Center construction project, in the banking area of Panama City. Representatives from the Ministry of Labor and Labor Development, Ministry of Health, Panamanian Chamber of Construction, Social Security Fund, Construction Company Diaz – Guardia and Nilton Freitas, BWI Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean attended to the activity.

Throughout April, SUNTRACS organized meetings with workers at the workplace, distributed health and safety materials in the streets and ended their 2019 health and safety campaign with this event and a big mobilization through the streets of the banking zone of Panama City.

“We are holding events on safety and health at construction projects and in the streets. These are the places where workers are. We left the offices to train workers directly at their workplace on health and safety because workers themselves, are the first security ring at every construction project,” Gregorio Guerrel, Secretary of Occupational Health of SUNTRACS.

SUNTRACS reminded everyone about the death of 350 construction workers in the past 20 years due to work-related accidents and reminded everyone of the shared responsibility in occupational risk and accident prevention.