Summary.
The bill seeks to provide comprehensive protection for teachers’ labor rights through a system of safeguards. It places that protection within the framework of constitutional guarantees, the national legal order, and international treaties and conventions ratified by the Republic of Panama (República de Panamá). Its scope covers teachers working in both the private and public education systems of the Republic of Panama.
The proposed provisions are matters of public order and social interest and would take precedence over other laws. The bill provides that private parties could not alter or vary those rules by agreement, on pain of nullity, except where the proposed law itself permits it. For purposes of interpretation, it states that the rules establish nonwaivable rights acquired under the Constitution; treats a teachers’ strike as a right acquired under Panama’s Labor Code (código de trabajo); and gives the rules special status in relation to any other legal or regulatory provision, contractual relationship, or agreement between parties.
The bill defines a teachers’ strike as a temporary absence from work in a classroom, agreed upon and carried out by a group of five or more teachers. It then amends Article 204 of Law 47 of 1946 (LEY 47 DE 1946). Under the proposed wording, a member of the teaching staff who is absent from a classroom post because of a teachers’ strike would retain pay for the days of absence, provided the absence does not exceed 60 days. The teacher would also retain the vacation pay to which they are entitled and could return to their branch of teaching during the current school year. These provisions connect the bill’s definition of a teachers’ strike with the pay and return-to-work treatment established by the amendment.
Lastly, the bill reiterates that the proposed law is a matter of public order and social interest and gives it retroactive effect. It provides for entry into force on the day following promulgation. Its express amendment to existing legislation concerns Article 204 of Law 47 of 1946; the other provisions establish the bill’s purpose, scope, interpretation rules, definition of a teachers’ strike, legal effects, and commencement. Given its subject matter, the bill relates to public bodies responsible for public education in the Republic of Panama and could concern or affect teachers, private educational institutions, and their employers.
What it proposes.
- Safeguards for teachers’ labor rights.
- Interpretation and scope of the proposed rules.
- Teachers’ strikes, pay, and return to teaching.
Who it would affect.
- Teachers in the public education system.
- Teachers in the private education system.
- Employers of teachers at private educational institutions.
Key points.
- Establishes a system of safeguards for comprehensive protection of teachers’ labor rights.Art. 1
- Extends its scope to teachers in the Republic of Panama’s private and public education systems.Art. 2
- Treats its provisions as matters of public order and social interest, gives them precedence, and restricts alteration by private agreement.Art. 2
- Sets interpretation rules concerning nonwaivable rights, teachers’ strikes, and the special status of its provisions.Art. 3
- Defines a teachers’ strike as a temporary classroom absence agreed upon and carried out by five or more teachers.Art. 5
- Amends Article 204 of Law 47 of 1946 to preserve pay for strike absences not exceeding 60 days, vacation pay, and the possibility of returning during the current school year.Art. 6
- Gives the proposed law retroactive effect and sets its entry into force for the day after promulgation.Arts. 7-8