Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2003, published 92nd ILC session (2004)

Maternity Protection Convention, 1919 (No. 3) - Panama (Ratification: 1958)

In reply to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government confirms that the national legislation, in particular the Labour Code and the social insurance legislation, also applies to women workers employed in export processing zones. The Government’s report also contains statistical information on the number of inspections carried out in the country and the cost of maternity benefits. Nevertheless, the Committee recalls that its previous observation concerned more specifically the manner in which the provisions relating to maternity protection (maternity leave, nursing breaks and protection against dismissal) contained in the Labour Code, as well as those relating to maternity benefits in the Organic Act Social Security Fund and its regulations, are applied in practice to women employed in export processing zones; it requested the Government to provide, for example, extracts of inspection reports or other official documents, statistics on the number of inspections carried out in export processing zones and the violations reported in the above zones. The Committee therefore trusts that the Government’s next report will not fail to include this information and the statistics requested on the number of women employed in export processing zones who have received maternity benefits during the period covered by the report and the amount of such benefits.

A request on certain points is also being addressed directly to the Government.