After nine months of negotiation, the new collective agreement is signed between the Union of Workers of the Agricultural Banana Industry and Related Companies (Sitraibana) and the company in charge of the production and distribution of bananas, Chiquita Panama.

The agreement seeks to benefit five thousand workers of Chiquita Panama with salary adjustments, until the recognition of a social clause with incentives for the company’s 800 collaborating women, according to Francisco Smtih, secretary general of Sitraibana.

With the signing of the agreement, the declaration of strike scheduled for Tuesday, April 30, is annulled.

The representative of the Chiquita Panama company, Ramón Isaac Macías, thanked the accompaniment of the Ministry of Labor and Social Development (Mitradel) and urged workers to continue operating harmoniously and productively in the province of Bocas del Toro.

For her part, the Minister of Labor, Doris Zapata, indicated that with this collective agreement the State can say that there is a guarantee for workers, contributing to the sustainability of this economic activity in the country.

“I believe that for the activity to become sustainable there must be an effort from both parties and this collective convention ratifies that effort that can permeate the development of the province,” Zapata said.

The new collective agreement will take effect from July 1, 2024 and will be valid for four years.