Mitradel refuses to suspend 4,051 jobs at Minera Panama

He Ministry of Labor and Labor Development (Mitradel) reported this Tuesday that it had rejected the request to suspend the employment contract 4,051 workers of the Cobre Panamá mine, presented by the branch of the Canadian company The first quantum mineral which exploits the deposit and leads a contractual dispute with the state.

The Ministry of Labor announced that by applying Operation code continued to “directly reject the request to suspend the effects of the labor contract presented by” Minera Panamá SA, (MPSA).

He Mithradel he explained that MPSA, a subsidiary of the company The first quantfiled a request on Monday to suspend 4,051 contracts citing “act of God or force majeure” stemming from the “suspension of activities at the port of Punta Rincón,” where the mineral is shipped for export.

The company’s argument is supported by the Labor Law, which also says that “during the processing of petitions” such as those filed last December by mining unions, “all dismissals and/or suspensions of the effects of labor contracts must have court approval”.

The figure of contract suspension, which does not imply termination of the employment relationship, but interrupts the payment of wages and other benefits until work resumes, was widely applied in Panama during the state of emergency caused by the coronavirus pandemic. COVID-19.

The first quant reported last Thursday that it had halted copper processing at the mine because it could not deliver the ore, then announced plans to “partially demobilize more than 8,000 employees and contractors.”

The Maritime Administration of Panama (AMP) at the end of January ordered the suspension of copper shipments, as part of the measures taken by the Government in the framework of the contract dispute, including the order on the suspension of mine operations from December 2022, and that the mining company complained to the competent authorities.

The government and the mining company began negotiations on a new concession contract in September 2021, and in January 2022 they announced an agreement, which, however, was not signed, which is why the executive ordered the closure of the mine last year. December.

The agreement announced more than a year ago included raising 2% to 12% to 16% royalties, guarantee a minimum annual contribution to the state 375 million dollars“10 times more” than what the company brought in earlier, and so far exempt from paying taxes.

The Supreme Court of Justice of Panama declared unconstitutional in 2017 the 1997 law that granted the concession for the exploitation of the Cobre Panamá mine, the largest open-pit mine in Central America.

The Cobra Panama mine, with an investment of approx 10,000 millionwith dollars and 5,279 workers, began exporting copper ore in June 2019. This represents 45% of the total production of FQM, which exploits other deposits in several countries, according to public information.

Cobre Panamá “contributes about 5% of Panama’s GDP, accounts for 75% of the country’s merchandise exports and has created, based on MPSA estimates, at least 40,000 jobs, directly and indirectly,” the company reiterated.