Chiquita Brands, the multinational banana company, has begun rehiring workers it laid off after halting operations in Panama three months ago due to a strike, Panamanian authorities said Friday. The rehiring’s follow an agreement reached in late August between company executives and Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino for the company’s return to the country.
Chiquita closed its Changuinola plant in the Caribbean province of Bocas del Toro at the end of May and laid off more than 6,000 workers amid a strike that partially paralyzed the region for weeks.
“As of yesterday (Thursday), the ministry had recorded approximately 500 contracts… we are very pleased; that is more than 500 families returning to work,” Labor Minister Jackeline Muñoz told reporters.
Under the agreement between Chiquita and the Panamanian government, the company will hire about 3,000 workers in a first phase, mainly for farm cleanup and maintenance, and another 2,000 in a second phase for production.
“This restart is important; a great deal of money is being invested here,” Commerce and Industry Minister Julio Moltó said during a visit to the plantations on Friday.
Bocas del Toro, with more than 100,000 residents, depends mainly on tourism and bananas. The fruit is Panama’s top export product and accounted for 12% of foreign sales in the first five months of this year, according to official figures.
“We will probably begin exporting between December and January,” Moltó said. Banana workers began a strike on April 28 against a pension reform that removed some of their benefits, which were later restored after an agreement with the Panamanian government.
During the protests, which lasted until late June, workers blocked roads at more than forty points in Bocas del Toro, causing shortages of basic goods in the province. The government said Chiquita will invest 30 million dollars to restart banana production on 5,000 hectares for export.
