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Law 11, which bans labor discrimination in Panama

by the Panamanian Committee Against Racism
(Comité Panameño Contra el Racismo)

With the signatures of his Excellency, the President of the Republic Martín Torrijos Espino, and Minister of Labor and Labor Development Reynaldo Rivera, Law Number 11 of April 22, 2005 was recently passed. It prohibits workplace discrimination and adopts various measures against other forms of discrimination. This legal document, which was published in the Gaceta Oficial Number 25,287 of April 27, 2005, is without a doubt an important advance in the efforts that different sectors of civil society have been making. In this case, non-governmental organizations of those of African descent and of the indigenous peoples of the country, trying to make Panamanian society a more inclusive one, at the different levels of national affairs.

Law 11 of 2005, which we are glad to have seen signed, is a piece of legislation that will be part of a collection of measures enacted in recent years and which, eventually, could lead the public policies of the Panamanian state to create the conditions for the exercise of full citizenship which a significant part of our population does not enjoy, whose chances of benefiting from national development have been frustrated, by an unfortunate set of social obstacles that impede their participation on equal terms.

In its first article the new law bans workplace discrimination for reason of race, lineage, disability, social class, sex, religion or political ideology. Article 2 prohibits the publication, broadcast or transmission, by any medium, of offers for paying jobs that demand a certain age of a person to be hired. These two provisions, precisely drafted into Law 11 of 2005, address a subject of strong and reiterated protests by the Panamanian Committee Against Racism, over a number of years, during which we have also put before the entire nation the call to end the discriminatory practice --- still in effect --- of demanding photographs from job applicants as a prerequisite for being considered.

At the same time that we view the adoption, entry into effect --- and, we hope, strict compliance with --- Law 11 with great satisfaction, the Panamanian Committee Against Racism will continue to advocate before the legislature for another measure to elevate its stature, for them to do the right thing in politics, so that nobody in this country is asked for a photo in order to get a job.

The promotion of equal opportunity in access to jobs is one of the demands for which our committee will continue to press, along with other organizations and fellow Panamanians who are also committed to respect for diversity and social inclusion in Panama.