Labor
Our highly qualified labor law team brings together decades of experience, regulatory insight and commercial knowledge. What sets us apart is our ability to empathize with clients, viewing their needs from their perspective while maintaining commercial sensitivity. Moreover, we pride ourselves on delivering innovative solutions that set new standards in every case we handle.
Due to their extensive experience and track record in the field, our team of labor lawyers is widely recognized in the Panamanian market. Our services include the provision of labor legal guidance, the handlingof both judicial and out-of-court claims, and assisting in collective and individual labor disputes, arbitrations, and strategic labor planning, among others.
Our extensive experience spans various productive sectors and industries in Panama. This experience allows us to understand the diverse labor needs and opportunities across the board, including but not limited to the following sectors:
- Port operations
- Hospitals
- Insurance
- Pharmaceuticals
- Retail and wholesale
- Manufacturing
- Transportation
- Aviation
- Hospitality and tourism
- Education
- Construction
Among our notable achievements are the strategic planning and execution of the transition from a privately operated public transportation system to a government entity. We have also assisted in planning and executing transitions resulting from service privatization. Additionally, we have successfully negotiated collective agreements across most of the country’s productive sectors, setting benchmarks in the labor legal market.
Acknowledgments
- Recognized as Tier 1 in the international directory The Legal 500, with excellent ratings by our clients.
- Alfaro, Ferrer & Ramírez was praised for “excellent balance between counsel and litigation”, advising on labor contracts and the labor ramifications of corporate transactions, negotiating collective pacts with unions and representing clients in labor conflicts. Editorial The Legal 500, Latin America 2023.
- “The labor law team of AFRA is very well structured, combining youth with experience and striking an excellent balance between counsel and litigation, as well as union matters. The diverse team works quickly, and attains a clear comprehension of the needs of the client is, they stand beside us during the whole process. Compared to other firms in this field, I believe they are the most assertive and direct with respect to what the client needs.” Client for The Legal 500, Latin America 2023.
Notable Transactions:
- We assisted Cervecería Nacional (part of the AB InBev Group) with the successful negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement with its union, amidst the announcement of a strike.
- We assisted the Port of Singapore (PSA Panama) in the successful negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement with one of the company's unions.
- We assisted DHL Panama in the negotiation and resolution of a collective dispute filed by one of the company's unions before the Ministry of Labor and Labor Development.
- We advised Importadora Maduro, in the negotiation with its union, the suspension of the effects of the collective bargaining agreement and the reduction of employee work shifts as part of the reorganization of its operations.
- We provided legal advice in the process of transitioning the public transportation system as a private entity to a government entity, while handling more than 4,000 layoffs and rehiring to avoid disruption of the transportation system, all in one week.
