Summary.
The bill amends provisions of the Labor Code (Código de Trabajo) of the Republic of Panama (República de Panamá) concerning the documentation of employment contracts and fines for labor violations. The text of Article 67 included in the bill requires an employment contract to be in writing and signed at the start of the employment relationship in three copies: one retained by the company, one delivered to the worker upon signing, and one sent to the General Directorate of Labor (Dirección General de Trabajo) or the regional offices of the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (Ministerio de Trabajo y Bienestar Social). Those offices keep a daily register of submitted contracts. The rule excepts agricultural or livestock work, domestic service, certain temporary or occasional work, works of a specified value, and contracts in communities of a specified size, subject to the article’s stated qualifications. It also authorizes the General or Regional Directorate of Labor (Dirección General o Regional de Trabajo) to visit establishments and workplaces, verify compliance, and impose fines of 100 to 5,000 balboas for repeated noncompliance.
Article 2 amends Article 139 of the Labor Code to make violations of the relevant chapter punishable by fines of 100 to 5,000 balboas imposed by the competent authority. Article 3 adds a provision to paragraph 3 of Article 235, concerning agricultural workers’ employment relationships. The reproduced text provides for the landowner’s joint liability in certain lease, tenant farming, and sharecropping arrangements, and treats some sharecropping and tenant farming agreements as employment contracts where economic dependence exists. It also sets out conditions concerning housing and adjoining land for raising poultry, and makes breaches of those duties punishable by a fine of 100 to 5,000 balboas according to the employer’s level of repeat offending.
Article 4 amends Article 290 to require labor, health, and police authorities to cooperate in enforcing the provisions of its chapter. Violations would lead to fines of 100 to 5,000 balboas, determined by the seriousness of the breach and the number of personnel affected.
Article 5 adds a new article. When an Indigenous worker of the Republic of Panama is involved in a labor proceeding and does not understand Spanish, the competent authority handling the proceeding must provide an interpreter to safeguard due process and human rights. The Ministry of Labor and Labor Development must ensure the same assistance when an employment contract is signed in those circumstances. Article 6 identifies the amendments and additions to the Labor Code, while Article 7 provides for entry into force upon promulgation.
The bill concerns labor, health, and police authorities. Its provisions could affect Indigenous and agricultural workers, employers, agricultural and livestock businesses, and participants in labor proceedings.
What it proposes.
- Written employment contracts and their registration.
- Fines for labor violations.
- Agricultural employment relationships.
- Language assistance for Indigenous workers.
Who it would affect.
- Indigenous workers who do not understand Spanish.
- Agricultural workers and their employers.
- Companies and authorities involved in employment contracts or labor proceedings.
Key points.
- The bill amends paragraph 5 of Article 67 of the Labor Code, concerning contracts in communities of a specified size.Art. 6
- Violations of the chapter containing Article 139 would be punished by fines of 100 to 5,000 balboas imposed by the competent authority.Art. 2
- A provision is added to paragraph 3 of Article 235 concerning duties connected with agricultural workers’ employment relationships.Art. 3
- Breaches of the housing and land duties reproduced in the text would be punished by a fine of 100 to 5,000 balboas according to the employer’s repeat offending.Art. 3
- Labor, health, and police authorities would cooperate to enforce the chapter containing Article 290; violations would be fined according to their seriousness and the personnel affected.Art. 4
- The authority handling a labor proceeding would provide an interpreter to an Indigenous worker who does not understand Spanish.Art. 5
- The Ministry of Labor and Labor Development would ensure interpreter assistance when an employment contract is signed in the same circumstances.Art. 5
- The proposed law would enter into force upon promulgation.Art. 7