Ministerial Agreement 140-2020, published on April 7 in the Official Journal, explains that the government measure is temporary and exclusively applicable as long as the circumstances and effects of the covid-19 pandemic, which has been declared worldwide, and its effects on employment contracts persist.

Article 3 of the document states that "... The Electronic Procedure for the Registration, Control and Authorization of Collective Suspensions of Labor Contracts to the General Labor Inspectorate is created, especially and extraordinarily due to the situation of the covid-19 pandemic. The purpose of this electronic procedure is to provide employers with the necessary electronic mechanisms for the registration, control and authorization of collective suspensions of employment contracts."

Article 5 explains that "... Regarding the individual suspension of employment contracts, employers and workers may voluntarily agree to suspend employment contracts, in accordance with the labor regulations in force, respecting labor principles, and the conventions or agreements may be concluded without any kind of pressure affecting the autonomy of the will of the parties involved."

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On third debate, Panama approved the legislative bill that aims at gradually reintegrating employees to their companies, which have already restarted their activities and which in 2020 suspended labor contracts due to the crisis caused by the covid-19 outbreak.

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