Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Panama (Ratification: 1970)

The Committee notes the joint observations of the National Confederation of United Independent Unions (CONUSI) and the National Council of Organized Workers (CONATO), received on 30 August 2025; as well as the observations of CONUSI, received on 29 August 2025. The Committee also notes the observations of the International Organisation of Employers (IOE), received on 1 September 2025, which reiterate the comments made by the employer members during the debate on the application of the Convention, adopted in June 2024 at the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards (hereafter the Conference Committee). The Committee also notes the observations of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), received on 2 September 2025. The Committee requests the Government to submit its comments in this regard.

Article 1 of the Convention. Implementation of an active policy of employment. Measures to promote full employment. Infrastructure development. Commercial policy. The Committee notes that, in response to its previous comments, the Government refers to the continuing implementation of the “Community Employability Axis” labour intermediation program, which aims to hire local jobseekers in order to provide employment opportunities in communities where infrastructure projects are under development, with the goal of improving their employability and labour reconversion. In the course of this program, 47 projects were implemented in 2023, through which 967 persons received training, and 2,200 job placements were achieved, of which only 72 were women. The Committee also notes that, in its observations, the CONUSI claims “the substantial investments in infrastructure and the community employability programs did not have a significant and verifiable impact on the creation of decent jobs; and (ii) the Government repeatedly omits to provide concrete and disaggregated data on the impact of these measures on job creation. Finally, the Committee observes that the Government does not provide information on the nature and impact of the specific measures adopted within all the infrastructure development and commercial policy projects signalled mentioned in its previous report. In light of the above, the Committee once again requests the Government to submit detailed information on the nature and impact of the specific measures adopted to generate employment within infrastructure development projects and commercial policy, including statistical data disaggregated by sex, age and region, on the number of jobs created.

Contribution of employment services to the promotion of employment. The Committee notes that CONUSI maintains that the public employment service and the “Empleos Panamá” portal show clear inefficiency in labour intermediation, as only 504 people managed to access employment out of a total of 24,689 intermediation attempts. CONUSI considers that this is evidence of a structural deficiency in employment services, and a critical shortage of quality vacancies that are compatible with workers’ aspirations and qualifications. The Committee observes that the Government does not respond to its previous comments. Consequently, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the nature of the programs and measures implemented by employment services with a view to promoting employment, including in rural areas, as well as statistical information, disaggregated by age, sex, and province, on the number of persons registered, vacancies, and placements achieved.

Coordination between training and employment policies. In its observations CONUSI highlights that: (i) education, technical training plans, and the National Qualifications Framework, lack substantial investment as well as the contextual relevance necessary to have an impact on the majority of workers; and (ii) the chronic disconnect between the National Institute of Professional Training and Human Development (INADEH) training offer, and the real and changing demands of the productive sector persist, which leads to a workforce with outdated skills and therefore underutilized. The Committee notes that the Government does not respond to its previous comments. In light of the preoccupations expressed by the CONUSI and of the lack of information in this regard, the Committee once more requests the Government to provide detailed information on the nature and impact of the measures taken, in consultation with social partners, with a view to coordinate the education and professional training policies with employment policies, specifically, on how the training offer aligns with changes in the demand for knowledge and skills and the needs of the job market.

Micro, small and medium enterprise (MSMEs)s.In light of the lack of information in this respect, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide statistical information, disaggregated by sex, on the number and type of enterprises created, as well as the number of jobs generated by the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Employment promotion for persons facing situations of poverty and extreme poverty. In light of the lack of information in this respect, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted with a view to improving the employability of persons facing situations of poverty and extreme poverty, including indigenous communities and rural-area populations. It requests the Government once again to send comparable statistical information, disaggregated by sex, on the results obtained by these measures to achieve durable integration into the labour market for persons facing situations of poverty and extreme poverty.

Persons with disabilities. The Committee notes the information included in the Government’s report regarding targeted recruitment initiatives aimed towards people with disabilities, carried out by the Department for Socioeconomic Integration of Persons with Disabilities. The Government further indicates that, between 2024 and March of 2024, 44 enterprises were the subject of inspections in order to verify their compliance with Law No. 15 of 31 May 2016, concerning equal opportunities for persons with disabilities. The Committee also takes note that, according to information published on 25 November 2025 on the Presidency’s website, the Ministry of Social Development presented to the Cabinet Council the results of the Second National Disability Survey, which indicated that 781,478 people in the country live some form of disability (1 out of 6 Panamanians). Finally, the Committee recalls that, in its previous comments, it noted that, under the Government’s previous Strategic Plan, the elaboration of the first national study on labour accessibility was established, with the aim to assist stakeholders involved in labour market integration. The Committee observes, however, that the Government does not provide information on the status of this study’s adoption, and that once again it does not provide information on the situation of persons with disabilities in the regular labour market, information which would facilitate the evaluation of the impact of the implemented measures. As a consequence, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the nature and impact of the measures adopted in the goal of promoting access of persons with disabilities to the open labour market, including statistical information, disaggregated by sex and age, on the trends of employment of persons with disabilities. The Committee also once again requests the Government to provide a copy of the first national study on access to the job market, once it is finalized.