Labor Day: Hundreds march to the Palace bearing warnings

Santo Domingo.- On International Labor Day, hundreds of workers of the country’s major labor unions set off from the barrio Villa Juana toward the National Palace Wednesday morning, to protest against efforts to amend the labor code and to demand better conditions.

Union leaders warn they’ll oppose any attempt to change the formula on severance pay, increased working hours, fewer women’s rights, among other points a revised labor code would affect.

Scores of social organizations of Greater Santo Domingo and other regions support the march, while workers in the northern region stage a March in Santiago.

Rafael Abreu, president of the labor unions grouped in the CNUS, said the protest aims to send a message to the business sector that "the Labor Code’s counter-reform will not be accepted."

He warned of a "subtle" campaign by the National Business Council (CONEP) which he affirms conveys misconceptions to the population and diverts attention to other issues, citing a poll on informal jobs unveiled Wednesday.

He said the labor code’s function is not the creation of jobs, but to implement a suitable economic model instead.

The demonstrators marched bearing pickets chanting to the beat of drums, while the leaders warn that the government had better attend their grievances.