Panama's 9 in 1 Law
By Juan Carlos Martinez
Lately not a day goes by that there is some mention in the local media about the so called “9 in 1” Law. This is sort of a nickname for the law as it included nine laws in one. In more detail the “9 in 1” law changed three codes including the labor code, judicial code and the penal code of Panama as well as six laws hence the name “9 in 1”.
The law is actually Law 30 of June 16, 2010 and the original idea was to allow the aviation industry to hire foreign pilots to make up for the shortage of qualified pilots facing airlines in Panama. The law says in its first article that it is designed to “promote the sustainable development of commercial aviation”. Some of the six laws changed with this controversial law are the elimination of the mandatory nature of an environmental impact study if a project is deemed to be of “social interest” by the government. Environmental groups and activists are very upset as they contend that this will set the country back many years in environmental matters in a time when internationally every country is fighting for sustainable development and making changes to compensate for climate change.
Another controversial article says that policemen who kill in the line of duty will not be suspended pending investigation but will be placed on desk duty. Civil society in Panama has interpreted this to mean that policemen are free to shoot with no consequences. This has alarmed human rights organizations in Panama.
Other controversial articles involve the right to strike and limit the powers of syndicates. Panama has several very strong syndicates including the oft mentioned SUNTRACS, which is the syndicate for construction workers and similar.
Since it was passed the law has united the very strong opposition forces that generally don't work together: the syndicates, environmentalists, civil society organizations, among others. Most demonstrations have been peaceful marches demanding that the law be repealed and a strike was called by several syndicates.
In early July of 2010 in the province of Bocas del Toro violence erupted starting with a strike by the workers of the banana company Bocas Fruit. The workers went on strike and closed all access roads to Changuinola, the equivalent of SWAT teams were dispatched and the situation got bloody. Two dead are reported and more than 100 people have been flown to Panama hospitals to receive treatment.
Changuinola is a city in Bocas del Toro province where most government offices and businesses are located as it is the headquarters of Bocas Fruit. The island of Bocas del Toro where most tourist activities are, has had no violence however the only way in and out was by plane as roads were closed to Changuinola and Almirante so driving to take a water taxi later was not an option.
On Sunday July 11th the government managed to reach an agreement with the workers by putting on hold the controversial articles of Law 30 for 90 days so all parties could sit down in an open discussion.
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