Minimum Wage Increased 8% to $285 per month
The Ministry of Labor announced an 8% hike in Panama's minimum wage yesterday. The new rate is $285 per month, up from $263 per month. According to the Minister of Labor Reynaldo Rivera, the hike represents a $.10 per hour raise for workers and would total $35 million dollars per year. He said that on 1 July 2007 pay rates for public employees who are making less than the new minimum would be adjusted, which would cost the government $16 million dollars per year. Labor leader (SUNTRACS) Genaro López said "this is very far from what workers need to live adequately." Business leader (APEDE) Enrique de Obarrio said the hike is reasonable, and that it establishes a mechanism for periodic review based on several factors, including productivity. (Editor's Comment: People ask all the time questions like "I want to move to Panama from the United States but the only income I have is my Social Security check that's about $1,200 per month. Can I get by there? Well, there are people getting by on 350% less than that, so there's your answer. Any discussion over a hike in the minimum wage, in any country, always comes down to the same factors - business versus labor and who's going to pay for it. If the new wage is going to cost the government an additional $16 million dollars per year, then raise taxes to pay for it. We're talking about a minimum wage here, so the effects will be felt equally by all sectors of labor management. That means the playing field is equal (the hike will effect everyone equally, and no real shift in competitive advantage.) All employers will have to pay more to their workers, and they will pass the increased labor costs on to consumers through price hikes. In the end, the consumers will pay for all of this, and in the grand scheme of things $35 million dollars in this economy is almost invisible, especially when spread out among those who earn the least. The only real "increase" will be felt in the lag between the implementation of the higher wages against the implementation of higher prices to pay for it. It's a wash in the end. The real answer is to create and employment market where there are more jobs than employees, and management has to compete for workers and entice the best with higher pay.)Aumentan salario mínimo a trabajadores en un 8%. No obstante, el anuncio no fue satisfactorio para todos los sectores.
Luis Alberto Castillo C.
PANAMA AMERICA
DESPUÉS DE muchas discusiones, y por segunda vez en la historia de las comisiones del Salario Mínimo, los trabajadores y empresarios lograron ponerse de acuerdo y establecieron ayer el nuevo sueldo mínimo en B/. 285.
El incremento representa el 8% con relación al salario mínimo anterior, fijado en el 2003, que era de B/. 263.
El ministro de Trabajo y Desarrollo Laboral, Reynaldo Rivera, explicó que el aumento significa un incremento de 10 centésimos por hora para el trabajador. "Esto representa un aporte por el orden de 35 millones de balboas por año", agregó.
Detalló que para el 1 de julio de 2007 se equipararán los salarios de los trabajadores públicos que estén por debajo del salario mínimo, lo que representa otro ajuste estatal por el orden de 16 millones de balboas. "Esto es un compromiso del Presidente de la República", afirmó.
Sin embargo, el aumento no fue satisfactorio para todos los sectores. El secretario general del Sindicato Unico de los Trabajadores de la Construcción y Similares (SUNTRACS), Genaro López, dijo que este incremento "está muy lejos de lo que necesitan los trabajadores para vivir adecuadamente".
"Este es un consenso de los grupos cercanos al Gobierno que no resuelve el problema de los trabajadores", indicó el dirigente.
Por su parte, el presidente de la Asociación Panameña de Ejecutivos de Empresa (APEDE), Enrique de Obarrio, dijo que el aumento es razonable, y se establece un mecanismo de revisión periódica de todos los factores, incluyendo la productividad
