QCOSTARICA (EFE) Street blockades in the western town of Changuinola continued on Monday after a month of protests by the banana industry union, the main employer in the province of Bocas del Toro, one of Panama’s poorest, where the multinational Chiquita laid off some 4,800 workers last week.
The crisis stems from a social security reform that affected the benefits of banana industry workers. A labor court declared a strike led by the Banana, Agricultural, and Related Business Workers’ Union (Sitraibana) illegal. After this, Chiquita announced mass layoffs, citing job abandonment and losses of US$75 million.
The president of the Bocas del Toro Chamber of Commerce, Aris Pimentel, emphasized to TVN this Monday that “almost the entire economy of Bocas del Toro” has revolved around “Chiquita for years,” so the mass layoffs of its day laborers place the province in a “super difficult” situation.
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Ombudsman Eduardo Leblanc, in a message on his X account, recalled that “for every banana worker laid off, there are 5 or 6 people affected,” calling the impact of the layoffs by the multinational banana company “enormous.”
“Bocas del Toro faces a multidimensional poverty rate of 38.9%, one of the highest in the country, with deficiencies in education, employment, and basic services,” argued Leblanc, who appealed to “true community and union leaders” by asserting that “safeguarding jobs in Bocas del Toro is an act of greatness.”
Closures and Blockades Continue
The town of Changuinola is the capital of Bocas del Toro and has 6,708 inhabitants, while the district of the same name has 101,091, according to the 2023 national census.
The banana industry, with a total payroll exceeding 7,000 jobs, is the main employer in the province, where small and micro-entrepreneurs also produce plantains, cocoa, and raise livestock, as Pimentel explained.
Chiquita controls 90% of national banana production, which remained Panama’s main export product in the first quarter of this year, representing 17.5% of foreign sales and reaching $324.4 million, the highest value in 15 years, according to the government.
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The street closures in Changuinola “remain in place. We are only allowed to move around on a schedule for the purpose of traveling from one place to another. In the case of those of us who manage distribution businesses, we have managed to do so, but with many limitations,” explained the president of the provincial Chamber of Commerce.
There is a shortage of basic goods and “no liquidity or income of any kind” for many businesses after a month of crisis, so “there is a real possibility that many of them will not be able to reopen,” Pimentel added.
Updated benefits for the banana sector
Union representatives and representatives from President José Raúl Mulino’s government held negotiations that led to the drafting of an updated Law 45, which establishes benefits for banana workers. This law will be presented to Parliament this week, according to Labor Minister Jackeline Muñoz.
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This proposal failed to convince union leaders last week, who ratified the strike, leading Chiquita to terminate the employment relationship with 4,800 workers, according to figures provided by the government.
The executive branch has established a high-level commission to define the roadmap for addressing the crisis in Bocas del Toro, including dialogue with Chiquita to ensure it does not abandon the country and resumes operations with new local personnel.
The banana workers’ union has said it will remain on strike until the new Social Security Law is repealed, as have public sector educators and construction workers. However, the government has ruled out that possibility and is calling for an explanation of the benefits of the reform.
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