Panama's Minimum Wage: An Outrageous Agreement

In Panama, a minimal wage increase was approved, amounting to just 5 balboas every two weeks, which is 60% less than in the last three periods when the increase was 25 balboas. In an attempt to disguise the paltry increase, authorities presented it in absolute monthly figures, while the minimum wage is set hourly, as not all workers have the same weekly or monthly working hours. To date, the country's workers are unaware of the proposal from CONATO's economic advisors. The constituent organizations of OIR reiterate our complete independence from this outrageous agreement and warn the trade union movement and all workers in general of the great danger facing labor rights and social gains, now that it has become evident on whom we can count to confront political and business interests. 'Resist to grow, organize to overcome!' Dialys Campa, OIR Coordinator. According to MITRADEL, around 400,000 formal workers will benefit from the new amounts: what will happen to the remaining 500,000 workers who do not benefit from this paltry salary increase? This agreement, made behind closed doors, which excluded alternative proposals such as those presented by OIR and even negotiators designated by CONUSI, lacks any technical-economic foundation, marking a profound regression in the technical rigor that has characterized CONATO's proposals in recent years. They attempt to hide that the approved increases correspond to only 0.04 and 0.07 cents of a dollar per hour worked. OIR's proposal was backed by the technical-economic substantiation of the renowned economist Prof. Ana Patiño in the construction of the 'Alternative to a New Minimum Wage' proposal, which was presented to said commission and, unfortunately, was not taken into consideration. Conference held at the headquarters of the Confederation of Workers of the Republic of Panama (CTRP). Leaders of central labor unions and independent unions described the minimum wage increase approved by the Panamanian government as 'ridiculous and unjust' and demanded a review of the Family Basic Basket, which is inconsistent with the high cost of living for the population in Panama. In this sense, Bayano Digital reproduces the text of an urgent communiqué issued by the leaders of Independent Labor Organizations in Resistance (OIR), to claim labor justice: A Minimum Wage That Impoverishes the Working Class. The ridiculous 'adjustment' to the minimum wage, announced on Wednesday, December 10, has outraged workers and popular sectors of the country, who have considered it an affront and reveals the real objectives for which MITRADEL supported the assault on CONATO by an unrepresentative group. According to the official MITRADEL communiqué, it is concluded that the adjustment to the Minimum Wage for 2026 and 2027 represents the lowest adjustment in the last 15 years, with minimal rates between 1.4% and 1.7%, paltry rates when compared to those during the post-pandemic economic crisis period.