(MENAFN- Newsroom Panama) The reactivation of Chiquita Brands' operations in the province of Bocas del Toro is progressing with the opening of job fairs to fill thousands of positions, although the process is not without labor tensions. The Ministry of Labor and Workforce Development (Mitradel) announced that a five-day recruitment fair will be held starting Tuesday, November 11, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., to hire workers for field, cultivation, and harvesting areas. These hires are part of the production season that will take place between November 2025 and March 2026. The announcement comes amidst complaints from the Banana Industry Workers Union, whose representatives allege that the company has not complied with a court order requiring the reinstatement of more than 1,500 employees laid off during the suspension of operations.

Union leaders maintain that these layoffs violate labor rights protected by the Labor Code. For his part, the Minister of Commerce and Industries, Julio Moltó, highlighted that the resumption of banana exports is scheduled for December 2025 or January 2026, and that the first phase of hiring 3,000 workers is already underway, with a second phase that will add another 2,000 jobs related to packaging, cleaning, and port operations.“In total, there will be 5,000 direct jobs that will reactivate the economy and restore stability to hundreds of families in Bocas del Toro,” Moltó stated. Labor consultant René Quevedo considered the announcement a positive sign for the national economy, following the most difficult years between 2023 and 2025, when Panama lost approximately 80% of its exports and more than 70,000 jobs due to closures, labor disputes, and the paralysis of the mining sector.

“This step sends a message of confidence to private investment and the labor market, in a context where the unemployment rate remains in double digits, the highest in two decades outside the pandemic period,” Quevedo noted. The Ministry of Labor and Workforce Development (Mitradel), through its official channels, reiterated that the reactivation of the historic banana industry, promoted by President José Raúl Mulino, represents an opportunity to restore employment, pride, and hope to thousands of families in the province. Chiquita Panama is carrying out its return under the commitments established in the memorandum signed on August 29 in Brazil between the Panamanian government and the company. It is worth remembering that the company suspended operations in June 2025, after losses of 75 million dollars resulting from a strike of almost two months, later declared illegal by a labor court.

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