In Panama, a legislative project was submitted which intends to gradually reintegrate the employees to their companies, which have already restarted their activities and which in 2020 suspended labor contracts due to the crisis caused by the outbreak of covid-19.

According to the legislative body, the bill which legalizes the gradual reintegration of the suspended contract workers to their companies and which will be in force until the end of the year, has been pending in the National Assembly since February 8, after the Minister of Labor, Doris Zapata, delivered it to the Presidency.

“During her presentation, Minister Zapata explained that this draft bill proposes to regulate the gradual reinstatement of workers with suspended work contracts in companies that have restarted their activities, in parallel to a process of extension of the suspension of the effects of the workers’ contracts for companies that remain out of business by provision of the health authority and, especially, the process of requesting and authorizing the suspension of the effects of labor contracts, in response to restrictions of citizen mobilization, such as total or partial quarantine, ordered within the State of National Emergency caused by Covid-19“, states a press release from the Ministry of Labor and Labor Development (Mitradel).

The draft bill states in its articles that: Workers with suspension of the effects of their contracts will be reintegrated to their jobs gradually, the companies that are subject to the application of the measures of restriction of citizen mobilization may execute their activities through labor modalities such as teleworking, paid leave, work on availability and others contained in the labor laws, highlights the official statement.

According to Mitradel, “… this regulation also proposes that, once the companies have been authorized to restart their economic activities, they will reinstate their workers month by month and the extensions of the suspension of contracts may not exceed five months, the companies that maintain suspended workers may not hire new ones, the hiring of workers will be allowed only to perform different functions, it also establishes that any termination of the employment relationship by mutual consent must be in writing and will not imply waiver of rights, among other issues of labor interest that were raised.”

The draft bill establishes differentiations in the return, based on the sector of the economy to which the company belongs. In addition, it contains special considerations for companies in the tertiary sector of the economy, the most affected by the pandemic. Likewise, it establishes, with the precedent of Law 157 of 2020, an alternative method of calculation of seniority premium, vacations, thirteenth month and indemnity, as applicable, to which the worker whose contract was suspended or whose working day was modified is entitled, in accordance with the agreements of the Tripartite Table for the Dialogue for the Economy and Labor Development, concludes the statement.

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