The Panamanian government has spent $2.580 million in salaries for civil servants from January to August this year, 10% more than had been reported in the first eight months of 2017.
According to figures from the Office of the General Comptroller between January and August 2017 and the same period this year, the expenditure on salaries for civil servants increased by $241 million, from $2,339 million to $2,580 million.
In the midst of Nicaragua's delicate economic situation, the government has announced that the 5.2% increase in the minimum wage agreed in March will come into effect on September 1.
Official media reported that the National Minimum Wage Commission ratified the agreements reached in March 2018, and from September 1 the new salaries will enter into force.
Between January and June, the Panamanian State disbursed $1.915 billion in salaries to public officials, 12% more than the $1.708 billion reported in the first semester of 2017.
The Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic reported that the cumulative gross salary of the Public Sector payroll in June 2018 amounted to $333.3 million, of which $312.2 million corresponds to permanent officials and $21.1 million to interim staff.
30 days after the strike began, employers and workers have finally reached an agreement on the scale of salary adjustments for the period 2018-2021.
From a statement issued by the Panamanian Chamber of Construction (CAPAC):
May 18, 2018.The Panamanian Chamber of Construction (CAPAC) informs its members and thegeneral public that today, May 18, a salary agreement was reached with the National Union of Construction Workers and Similar (Suntracs).
The Panamanian State spends $321 million a month on salaries paid to public officials, well above the $209 million spent on this expense four years ago.
Monthly expenditure on public salaries has increased, especially during the Varela administration, as according to figures of the Ministry of Economy and Finance from March 2018, every month $113 million more is paid than in 2014.
Due to a lack of consensus between employers and workers, the government established the increase for this year at 10.4%, which will be applied in two parts, beginning with a 5,2% adjustment, starting from March.
As the business sector and workers could not agree on fixing the increase, the Ortega administration made the decision to establish the adjustment. The first increase will be 5.2% and will apply from March, while the second will also be 5.2%, and will be fixed from September of this year and will run until February 28, 2019.
The total amount disbursed by the government in payment of salaries up until October 2017 was $321 million, 18% more than in the same month in 2016.
According to a report by the Comptroller General of the Republic, a total of 233,111 posts were registered in October of last year, which are divided into 209,173 permanent and 23,938 contingent workers.By sector, 150,414 corresponded to the Central Government and 82,697 to the Decentralized Sector.
The increases range from 3.9% to 6.15%, depending on the number of employees on the payroll and the economic activity to which the company is dedicated.
The increase applies from January 1, and will be 3.9% for companies with between 1 and 50 employees, 5.5% for those with between 51 and 150 employees, and 6.15% for companies that have more than 150 workers.
As of January 1, 2018, the increase rate will apply to the private sector, which will apply for all wage categories and will remain in force throughout the year.
The increase approved by the National Salaries Council is one that had been proposed by the associations of private companies in October.
Crhoy.com reports that "...The Minister of Labor and Social Security, Alfredo Hasbum, urged the Council to conclude with the simplification of the Minimum Wage Decree no later than December 15. It seeks to avoid inequalities between groups of workers or economic activities and to simplify the decree."
A savings fund, housing loans, expenses for recreation and bonuses, scholarships for children, and restaurant services for employees of the state and the monopolist hydrocarbons distributor of Costa Rica, are financed through the prices paid by consumers, even by the poorest.
On September 1, the 4.1% rise in the minimum wage for workers in nine of the ten sectors established by law will come into force.
The 4.125% increase is part of the 8.25% adjustment approved jointly by the private sector, government and unions in February. At that time it was agreed that the adjustment would be made in two parts, at the beginning of each semester.
The value of salaries for public employees increased by almost $80 million between June 2014 and April this year.
"...The payroll of employees in state institutions has not stopped growing in terms of number of employees and in salaries since 2014.Figures compiled by the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic indicate that in June 2014, salary expenses were around $215 million, while in April this year the figure was $291 million."
From January 2018 until 2022, there will be an annual increase of 8.25% in the wages of workers in free zone companies.
The agreement will be valid for five years and will come into effect from January 1, 2018.
Laprensa.com.ni reports that "...Currently the minimum wage in force in a free zone is US $180, and when the adjustment is applied next year it will go up to approximately US $195".
Businesses will have to apply an initial increase of 4,125% from 1 March 2017 and a second increase, of the same amount, on September 1.
The agreement was approved with the consensus of the private sector, trade unions and government. The decision to establish the increase at 8.25% came after the business sector proposed an adjustment to 7.63%, and unions, between 9% and 10%.