By Juan Limachi for La Critica - Popular organizations are asking Panama's government to increase the minimum wage to be better able to face rising costs of living. A wage increase will help the growth of the internal market and will contribute to the increase of the buying capacity of 67% of the young population, said Horacio Rivera yesterday, an investigator of the Institute of National Studies (IDEN.) "The ideal minimum wage should be established at $400 per month. Only with this amount is it possible for workers to satisfy their basic necessities," he said. According to Rivera, the present minimum wage has not been adjusted to the current reality of the high costs of life, and the people finds itself more and more "drowning" because they work only to be able to eat. (more)

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - Panama's Contraloría General de la República (General Comptroller of the Republic) reported the overall unemployment rate for Panama dropped from 8.7% in August 2006 to 7.3% in May 2007, down 1.4% in ten months. The highest rate of unemployment is in Colón at 11.4%. The Comptroller's office provided comprehensive detailed statistics in their recently released report which tracks unemployment rates among men and women, by age group, by provinces in the interior and sections of Panama City (such as the center of the city and San Miguelito), and breaks out indigenous populations and treats them separately. The lowest rate of unemployment in Panama? In the Darién at 1.5%, mostly because all of the people who live there are working either in their own small agriculture based business or as part of a co-op.

Copyright 2007 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. As usual, go ahead and use whatever you want as long as you credit the source. Salud.

By Earl Moxam, Senior Gleaner Writer - The (Jamacian) Government is now preparing to seek job opportunities for Jamaicans on the new Panama Canal project. This follows the Panamanian people's decision, in a national referendum last month, to support a massive expansion of the canal, with the addition of a new, "super-sized" lane. This came almost a century after the existing shipping lane was completed, joining the Atlantic and Pacific oceans on both sides of the Central American country. "The Ministry of Labour will be making the necessary contacts so that, if needed, we will be able to send some of our skilled workers to participate in the new project," Derrick Kellier, the Minister of Labour, confirmed in an interview with The Gleaner. Already, said Kellier, officials in his ministry have begun exploring options for Jamaicans participating in the US$5.2 billion expansion project Diplomatic channels - "We are keeping close to the situation and are looking forward to the opportunity, and through diplomatic channels we will be making contacts to make sure that we are up to date with the situation," he said. Ruddy Spencer, Opposition Spokesman on Labour, is also optimistic about the job prospects for Jamaican workers on the new canal project, saying he hopes the Labour Ministry will exploit this opportunity to secure vitally needed jobs for many of skilled but unemployed workers.

(Source) SCOTT MOYERS ~ Southeast Missourian: This is a lot to ask of a job fair: Prove to executives of a St. Louis-based company in eight hours that the local work force can sustain a new call center. Do it and Cape Girardeau can bank on 350 new jobs. Don't and the jobs go elsewhere. That's exactly what local economic development recruiters, city officials and executives at National Asset Recovery Service Inc., or NARS, are asking of the Southeast Missourian-sponsored Career Fair on Oct. 17."I don't ever recall having that much riding on a job fair as what will be riding on this particular job fair," Mayor Jay Knudtson said Monday. NARS, founded by Cape Girardeau native and company president Chris Buehrle in 1993, is considering opening a call center here but company executives have yet to be convinced that the area has a strong enough labor pool. "It's not a done deal," said Mitch Robinson, executive director of Cape Girardeau Area Magnet, a business recruiting organization involved in the project. "They key thing is the availability of workers." The NARS Web site describes the firm as a business process outsource company founded in 1993 as a collection agency. Now the company calls itself a call center outsourcing firm. NARS also has an 1,100 employee facility in Panama City, Panama, and more than 1,000 employees at a center in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Company officials said Monday they were not yet willing to discuss their Cape Girardeau plans. (more)

(Source) The Panamanian Institute of Professional Formation and Qualification for Human Development (INADEH) will train more than 200,000 Panamanians through a new and extensive training program to help prepare for the expansion of the Panama Canal and other economic programs. These training and skills qualification classes will be free to the participants and will be paid for by the Panamanian government. This program was presented by the Director of the INADEH, Juan Planells, who clairified that this is a training and skills preparation program, and that the people who complete these courses will be better prepared for jobs and will have a greater chance of finding employment with the companies that will be coming to Panama to build the expansion of the Panama Canal and other major projects. "Once students are well trained and have graduated from these courses then we will make a list of graduates available to the companies that will be needing skilled labor in specific areas," he said.

The number of job applications sent to the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) had doubled to 5,200 a month since April 24, when Panamanian President Martin Torrijos announced the Canal widening project, the ACP said on Tuesday. Ana Maria de Chiquilani, the ACP's human resources director, said most applications had come from electricians, drivers, welders and cablemen. She said there were also significant numbers of applications from civil engineers, technicians and computer specialists of various grades. The ACP has currently received more than 62,000 applications, more than 32,200 of which meet the job specifications. At present, the canal project mostly needs temporary workers, welders, riggers, mechanics, cablemen and assemblers. The ACP will choose and recruit staff in line with the organizations' needs and the progress of the canal widening project, the director added. Panama is set to hold a public referendum in October on a 5.25-billion-dollar plan to enlarge the canal to accommodate new, super-large cargo ships. Some 13,000 ships pass the 77-km canal a year, 5 percent of the global maritime market. Source: Xinhua

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.

The Commission of the Minimum Wage has been discussing what to do for eight months. So far there has been no movement or decision, but some business leaders have fixed their sights on a 4% wage increase. According to Antonio Fletcher, a representative of National Council of Private Business (CoNEP), a 4% hike in the minimum wage would be fair and substantiated by steep increases in prices and inflation that have hit the working class hard. The current minimum wage in Panama is $263.76 per month, and a 4% increase represents an additional $10.55 per month.

The fight that started between the National Council of Organized Wokers (Conato) and the National Confederation of Independent Union Unity (Conusi) that started over the social security reform debate has continued with a disagreement over proposals for a hike to the minimum wage. Rafael Chavarría, of Conato presented a plan to raise the wage to $526.19 per month until the year 2009, and Genaro López of Conusi set the number at $638.33. Private business representatives have not entered the debate yet.

Miami-based Carnival Corp. has grown into the world’s biggest cruise vacation company through savvy marketing, creampuff U.S. tax laws and inexpensive labor recruited from poor nations around the world. Carnival’s crews work 10- to 16-hour days, seven days a week, many of them primarily for tips. The company avoids U.S. corporate income tax and labor laws — and posted profits of $1.8 billion last year — because the company is incorporated in Panama. And while ferrying North American passengers to exotic ports of call, it strikes deals with vendors to keep a share of the money customers spend onshore.

Small upscale dive resort in Costa Arriba Colon near San Blas opening Dec.05 seeks hard working, reliable, bilingual individuals with initiative, a sense of adventure and a love for nature for key management and front desk positions. Send resumes and referrals to david@corallodge.com."

David Wroughton
david@corallodge.com
www.corallodge.com
(507)317-6754
(507)6671-1150 cel.

Hit this link to view photos of the project: http://community.webshots.com/album/481006080azKkGs/0