Latest news with #Bill462
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US banana giant Chiquita fires thousands over Panama strike
Banana producer Chiquita has announced mass layoffs in Panama amid an ongoing strike. The United States-owned banana giant said on Friday it was letting 'all' daily labourers go for the 'unjustified abandonment of work at our plantations'. Workers have been on strike for more than a month, as part of nation-wide industrial action protesting new social security laws lowering pensions. The government has branded the strikes 'illegal' and said the sackings are the result of workers' 'intransigence'. Chiquita said in a statement that the strike had caused 'irreversible damage ..[and] at least $75 million in losses', adding that those affected by the layoffs are required to collect severance payments. The company did not elaborate on the number of people affected by the decision. However, the Reuters news agency reported that about 5,000 workers out of 6,500 have lost their jobs, referring to an unnamed source. Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino defended Chiquita's actions at a news conference on Thursday. 'The company will have to act accordingly, dismissing those necessary to save its operation in Bocas [a Caribbean province in Panama]. Believe me, it hurts me, but this intransigence is not good,' he said. 'The strike is illegal,' Mulino added. 'The next step according to the Labour Code is dismissal with just cause because this is a de facto strike, not a legitimate strike.' However, Francisco Smith, secretary-general of the Banana Industry Workers Union (Sitraibana), told the Panamanian television channel Telemetro on Thursday that the strike was legal because the 'deputies who approved bill 462 harmed the banana sector'. Passed in March, Bill 462 introduced changes to the Social Security Fund that could lead to a possible reduction in pensions. The introduction of the law led to significant anger, with unions, including banana workers, joining a national strike on April 23. The government and Sitraibana held a preliminary meeting on Thursday to discuss amendments to the bill, which would include protections for banana farmers. Still, Smith said, 'the strike continues, we continue fighting in the streets… The strike is indefinite.' Panama's banana industry is a significant part of the country's economy. According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, in 2023, Panama exported $273m worth of bananas, making it the 13th largest exporter in the world.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Statute of limitation bills for child sex abuse survivors stall in Pennsylvania legislature
(WHTM) — A bill proposing a two-year lawsuit window for child sex abuse survivors has reached an all-too-familiar impasse in the Pennsylvania State Legislature. A new session meant new bill numbers, new sponsors, and the same old and tragic argument. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now 'We saw these victims,' said Rep. Nathan Davidson (D-Cumberland/Dauphin). 'They are marked for life. Many of them wind up addicted or impaired or dead before their time.' Rep. Davidson's Bill 462 would open a two-year window for child sex abuse survivors to sue their alleged perpetrators. Bill 464, a constitutional amendment, has a longer process, but is suit-proof should Bill 462 be ruled unconstitutional. These bills have passed both chambers in the past, but have been derailed by clerical errors and political gamesmanship. 'We keep doing this thing over, and over, and over again, and it's still not done,' said Rep. Davidson. 'It starts to reflect poorly on our ability, or at least the public perception that we can do things.' The legislation also waives sovereign and governmental immunity, meaning schools, counties, and the state could also be sued. Maryland recently passed a bill capping verdicts after so many victims came forward. Budgets were in jeopardy, and taxpayers were on the hook. 'As someone who is right across the border from the state of Maryland, I've seen the issues that they've run into, and I will not be supporting this,' said State Rep. Rob Kauffman (R-Franklin). Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now But fellow Republican Rep. Tim Bonner (Mercer/Butler), a lawyer, said victims still have to prove systemic wrongdoing. 'Our churches, schools, and employers only have liability if they know or should have known about these attacks,' said Rep. Bonner. 'The mere fact that they had these individuals in their employment does not place liability upon them. Somehow, they had to be involved. These acts, then, are vile.' The bills passed a House committee, but Senate Republican Leader Joe Pittman reiterated his chamber won't move the stand-alone bill and only move the constitutional amendment if it includes voter ID—political maneuvering that Davidson says loses sight of the victims. 'These people have lived with invisible scars for their entire lives,' said Davidson. 'They've been gaslit. They've been manipulated, they've been shamed, and some of them just want the ability to say this happened.' There are those in that building who insist that a statutory bill opening that window would be unconstitutional, but Governor Josh Shapiro (D) wants Attorney General Dave Sunday (R) to insist it would be constitutional, and he would sign it. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
