Panama introduces a tripartite minimum wage review table

The Panamanian authorities set up a review table this Wednesday Minimum wage in the Central American country with the participation of representatives of employers’ associations and labor union groups, a debate held every two years.

“As a result of this first meeting, a work schedule was established that includes meetings, tours of rooms in the provinces and regular meetings in the capital, with the aim of each sector presenting documents to take into account in the revision of the minimum wage the economic and labor reality of Panama”, He said Minister of Labour, Doris Zapata, according to the statement.

The National Minimum Wage Commission consists of Ministry of Labor and Labor Development, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Agricultural Development, National Council of Private Enterprise (CoNEP) and Panama Chamber of Construction, National Council of Organized Workers (Conato) and Confederation of Unity of Independent Trade Unions (Conusi).

This tripartite commission will analyze “how the economy is, according to indicators in each of the provinces, the cost of living, the situation in the labor market and the finances of the country” in order to define the new wage rate that will prevail from next January 1, 2024, the Ministry reported of work.

President of Conep, Juan Antonio Ledezma He stated that “a tripartite social dialogue with respect for the law is important for this sector because it guarantees peace, an attempt at an agreement”, according to a letter from the Ministry of Labour.

“We are at the table setting the minimum wage. From now on we are fighting at the table with arguments and in the streets with dignity for a FAIR minimum wage,” Conusi wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

IN Panama there are about 50 minimum wages, depending on the economic activity and the region of the country, the levels of which must be harmonized by law every two years, ideally after the consensus of employers and unions at the table, which never happened, so the Government finally makes a decision.

The latest adjustment, with an increase between 1.5% and 13%, was set in 2021 by CEO Laurentino Cortizo only for sectors that have achieved recovery amid the crisis stemming from the covid-19 pandemic. .

Adjusted economic activities were agriculture, hunting, animal husbandry and forestry (1.5%); exploitation of mines and quarries (1%); private health, financial and social activities (2%); construction (1%); electricity, gas and water supply (2%), and bananas (13%).

The sectors whose wage levels remained unchanged are the hotel industry, restaurants, retail and wholesale trade, where the majority of small and medium-sized enterprises in the country are located.

To determine the adjustment, in the projections of the gross domestic product (GDP) for 2021 compared to 2019, the Government took into account only sectors with growth above 3%, and not 2020, considering that it was an atypical year due to the almost paralyzed economy due to the health crisis .