Representatives of suppliers, non-unionized workers and administrative personnel of the Minera Panamá company were received at the Amphitheater of the Presidency of the Republic by senior officials of the Ministry of Labor and Labor Development (Mitradel) and the Ministry of Commerce and Industries (Mici), in order to address some doubts on the part of the workers, thus complying with the position adopted by the President of the Republic, Laurentino Cortizo Cohen of being an open-door administration.
In a respectful dialogue, the suppliers, non-unionized workers and company administrators expressed their doubts about the status of the negotiations, as well as their concern about the thousands of jobs that could be lost due to the cessation of operations of Minera Panama.
Representatives of Mitradel pointed out that it is unfortunate that Minera Panamá has put the workers in an anxiety for not wanting to sign the contract that was previously agreed.
Zaritma Simon, advisor to Mitradel, informed these representatives that there is no request to date to suspend the employment contracts of mine employees.
One of the points discussed at the meeting was the decision of the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) to suspend copper concentrate shipping operations from January 26, 2023, based on a legal determination.
Given this issue, the government representatives pointed out that the operation of a port is done through a contract established by the AMP and the company. In that contract there are duties and obligations that have to be fulfilled and at this moment there is a technical part that has not been fulfilled.
For their part, Mici representatives pointed out that copper concentrate exports are not currently covered by a contract and the idea was to speed up the process and establish the new agreed rules and from there that exports would have a livelihood.
On behalf of the National Government, Zaritma Simon and Raúl Jordán, advisers to the Minister of Labor Doris Zapata, participated in the meeting; Ana Méndez, Mici’s deputy director of Mineral Resources and Daniel Esquivel, adviser to the Minister of Commerce and Industry.
