The government of Panama declared a “state of emergency” on Tuesday in a Caribbean province where a subsidiary of U.S.-based banana company Chiquita Brands laid off about 5,000 workers following a strike that has caused millions in losses. The measure applies to the province of Bocas del Toro, where the company operates a plant whose workers went on strike a month ago in protest of a pension reform passed in March by Congress.
Strikers have been protesting and blocking roads in the province, which borders Costa Rica, causing shortages of fuel and some food items. Schools are also closed. “The declaration of the state of emergency under no circumstances implies intervention in lifting road blockades by the communities,” said Minister of the Presidency Juan Carlos Orillac.
“This is meant to economically activate the province,” added Orillac, announcing the measure after a cabinet meeting led by right-wing President José Raúl Mulino. The state of emergency allows the government to expedite bureaucratic processes to more quickly address economic or social crises.
Chiquita, which employed over 7,000 workers, laid off around 5,000 employees last week for “unjustified abandonment of duties” at its Changuinola plant in Bocas del Toro. According to the company, the strike has caused “irreversible damage to banana production” due to the “complete abandonment” of the plantations.
The company has suspended planting, packing, and exporting bananas, as well as administrative operations. It estimates losses exceeding $75 million as a result of the strike. “We are going to try to talk to those blocking the roads and obviously try to bring them a solution, as much as the government can,” said Orillac.
President Mulino warned on Friday that thousands of jobs would be lost if the strike continued, which a labor court deemed “illegal.” A government delegation is in talks with union leaders, who are calling for a new law to restore benefits they say were provided under the previous pension and healthcare system.
