The Ministry of Health and the construction company IBT Health Group reached an agreement to resume construction of work in hospitals in the provinces of Darién, Los Santos and Chiriquí.
In order to start construction, the Comptroller General of the Republic will authorize the agreements and documents signed between the Ministry of Health (MoH) and IBT Health Group.
After suspending contracts awarded to IBT Health Group in April, the government has resumed negotiations and announced that at the end of the year the works on four hospitals in the provinces of Darien, Colón, Los Santos and Chiriqui will be restarted.
It is hoped that with the agreements reached between IBT Health Group and the Ministry of Health (MoH) the hospitals will begin operating in 2016.
Employers and the union have signed a collective agreement for 2014-2017 establishing a tiered wage increase starting with 27 cents in the first year.
Representatives of the Union of Construction Workers and Similar Entities (SUNTRACS) and the Panamanian Chamber of Construction (CAPAC) signed the collective agreement, effective until 2017, that includes a salary adjustment of 98 cents an hour, to be implemented in stages over four years, representing 35.87 %, or 9% per annum.
A strike has been announced as part of the negotiation of a collective agreement, bringing risk to one of the most dynamic sectors of the Panamanian economy.
In the absence of an agreement between the Panamanian Chamber of Construction (CAPAC) and the Trade Union of Construction Workers and Similar (Suntracs) to sign the collective agreement, the union has announced strikes in the sector.
Conditions of the agreement between the Nicaraguan government and the consortium of Brazilian companies are unknown.
In regards to the agreement for the construction of the hydroelectric station only the price of the energy generated is known, which will be between $118 and $125 per megawatt.
However Emilio Rappaccioli, Minister of Energy and Mines, "made no mention of the energy rate that was negotiated and would only say that "we are signing the document ensuring that the project will become a reality, and construction will be starting, I would say, in three or four months time, concluding at the end of 2018. "
The Canal Authority and contractors from the Sacyr consortium, Impregilo and Jan de Nul signed the agreement reached to resume the works.
The Board of Directors of the Panama Canal Authority have authorized the signing of a contract with the consortium Grupo Unidos por el Canal, as agreed between the parties on 27 February.
From a press release issued by the Panama Canal Authority:
The agreement between the Panama Canal Authority and the consortium GUPC has been framed within the conditions of the original contract and rules out paying for cost overruns which are outside of the contract.
The Third Set of Locks project will be completed within the terms of the contract, as the Panama Canal Authority has demanded since the beginning.
Builders and unions have agreed to a wage increase of 3% for 2012 and a further 3% in 2013.
The agreement was reached after four months of negotiations between representatives of the Salvadoran Chamber of Construction Industry (CASALCO), the Trade Union of Construction Workers (SUTC) and the Salvadoran Union of Construction Workers and Allies (SITRACOCS) .