On December 19, the Independent Banana Producers Workers' Industrial Union (Sitrapbi) of the Panamanian province of Bocas del Toro, and the Union of Workers of the Banana Industry, Agriculture, and Related Companies (Sitraibana), called on an eight-hour strike, which had the support of 7,000 banana workers, to demand the Government complies with the legal mandate to adjust minimum wages at least every two years
Banana unionists said this initiative was also in support of the proposals that the National Council of Organized Workers (Conato) presented on December 10 to the National Minimum Wage Commission, requiring that the minimum wage be increased by no less than 25%.
Banana is one of Panama's main export products and it is a fruit in high demand in North American and European markets. According to preliminary official figures, from January to October this year the value of banana exports increased by 33% to $114 million dollars compared to the same period of the previous year.
President Laurentino Cortizo Cohen recently said that, since workers and employers had not reached an agreement, the Executive will have to take a decision on this matter before the end of December.
Meanwhile, entrepreneurs meeting at the National Council of Private Enterprise (CoNEP) warned last Tuesday that the economic conditions in the country were not good enough to increase the minimum wage, as this would result in an increase in unemployment and the closure of several companies.
Source: laestrella.com.pa
