CALL CENTERS GROW
In recent months, the call center industry of Panama has grown by between 40% and 50%, despite the main obstacle for their development continuing to be the lack of qualified personnel. In the seven largest centers alone there are 9,000 people employed.

ACCESS FOR DISABLED PEOPLE
Panama expects to become a leading country in matters of accessibility for disabled people it was announced by the secretariat for Social Integration of Disabled People (SENADIS), in a joint press conference with a Spanish delegation in Panama to find out about the Plan of Accessibility 2017 that SENADIS is studying.

TOURISM TRAINING
Panama will be the location of the Superior Center of Hotel and Tourism Hosting of Valencia, this year. It will be the most important training center of Central America and the Caribbean. The initiative was finalized with the signing of a convention between the Panamanian Institute of Tourism (IPAT), the National Institute of Human Development (INADEH) and the Institute for the Formation and Use of Human Resources (IFARHU) and the Hotel Business School of Valencia.

SAVING ENERGY
The energy-saving plan established for all public institutions has generated a saving of US $2.9-million in the period from January to June 2006 and 90% of the recommendations have been carried out, it was reported by the National Commission of Energy Saving (CONAE).

MARITIME MODERNIZATION
The Spanish Company Indra was awarded a contract of US $ 13.5-million to digitalize and unify the information network of the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP). The project will connect the institution with the 77 Panamanian consulates throughout the world and with the technical offices of the AMP in New York, London and Manila.

CANAL CONGESTION
An accumulation of nearly 90 ships waiting to transit the Panama Canal was caused by routine work on Gatun Locks. The work was completed by 300 workers within three weeks.

EXPANSION OF THE CANALl
The project to expand the Panama Canal, which will cost approximately US$5.2 million, continues to stir up controversy. More than twenty organizations of a variety of types have registered at the Electoral Tribunal to promote the "Yes" and "No" options of the referendum ballots to be cast on October 22. Among those supporting the measure is the Workers' Federation of the Republic of Panama (CTRP), which requested its 40,000 members to vote for the "yes" option. Additionally, the Panama Canal Pilot's Guild (UPCP) states that the expansion of the waterway is "a necessity that cannot be postponed", but remained short of requesting its member to vote for or against the project, due to the personal nature of the decision. Other groups suppporting the project are the members of Fundación por Panamá, APEDE, the Panamanian Chamber of Tourism, the Panama Chamber of Commerce, "Mi Canal", Agrupación Así Sí (Alianza por un sí social e integral), Unión de Dirigentes Naturales, Cámara Panameña de la Construcción (CAPAC) and Sociedad Panameña de Ingenieros y Arquitectos (SPIA).

The expansion project has been a new element of dispute within Movimiento Liberal Republicano Nacionalista (MOLIRENA), one of the main opposition political parties in Panama. A number of members of the party recently registered a faction supporting the "yes" movement, thus disobeying the call made by the party’s president to promote the "no" vote for the referendum. SUNTRACS, a left-wing labor organization, the Panameñista Party and "Movimiento de Mujeres Panameñas por el No," a women’s organization, are among the promoters of the "no" vote

In the meantime, political leaders from the government and the opposition continue to debate in the press on the possibility of delaying the referendum in order for the government to gain consensus about the project, although no particular sector has made such a proposal official. However, one thing remains constant. All political parties represented at the National Assembly have voted to support the project.

The latest poll revealed that 58% of Panamanians support the Canal’s expansion project, whereas 20% is against it, and an equal number remains undecided. Despite the favorable numbers supporting the expansion, the government is still not satisfied with the results, and the Chamber of Commerce has expressed concern about the growing number of undecided voters and the belligerent attitude of those supporting the "no" vote.

TEACHER'S STRIKE
In early August, Panamanian teachers in the public sector requested a salary raise, citing the rising cost of living. The proposed raise was $190. However, the government offered a counter-proposal: $60 as a gradual increase for the next three years, with $20 increases per annum.

Since both parties remained fixed to their position and due to the failure of the negotiation process, the teachers went to strike in mid-August, threatening to halt the entire school year. The strike was backed by demonstrations in Panama and the provinces. On several occasions the teachers blocked roads and were dispersed by anti-riot squads with tear gas.

The measure adopted by the teachers prompted the government to call for a new negotiation process which proposed a $90-raise and a general improvement of the educational system. This, however, was not accepted by the teachers’ guild, which lowered its demand to $120.

According to recent data, the education sector represents 6.3% of Panama’s GDP.

The average pre-school teacher in the public sector earns $429 per month, whereas a grade-school educator makes $496. The average professor earns $538 and middle and secondary-education specialists receive $616 each month.

As this issue went to press, six teachers were in jail and the Ministery of Education said schools were re-opening.

The National Institute of Culture (INAC) has announced that the first phase of the restoration of the San Francisco de la Montaña Church, in Veraguas, has been completed.

A national monument, this unpretentious country church dates back to the 18th century and houses original altars and paintings combining European baroque styles and Native American influences. It was built in the time when the Spanish conquistadors searched for gold deep in the mountains of the present-day province of Veraguas. Having fallen in disrepair in recent decades, the structure is being restored with public and private funds.

The town of Santa Fe, a cool-weather agricultural community, is a 45-minute drive from the provincial capital of Santiago, which is 250 km. West of Panama City.

In trying to adapt to this country of ours, expats will soon discover that Panama’s version of Spanish is a bit different from that of Central America. Resembling that of Cuba or Puerto Rico, Panama’s Spanish omits the "s" at the end of the word, it is spoken very rapidly and louder than in other countries.

Panamanian Spanish is spoken very rapidly and louder than in other countries of the region. It resembles more that of Cuba and Puerto Rico than that of Central America.

Due to the country’s role as an international crossroads and the special relationship it enjoyed for 100 years with the U.S.-administered Canal, Panamanian Spanish is spiced with many English words, pronounced in a very local way, and sometimes with a slight variation in meaning.

The following few words will help the visitor bettere understand our Street -Spanish

Chantin (Chan-teen): House or place of residence. Origin unknown.
Fulo/la (foo-lo/la): A blond person.
Chicha (cheecha): a drink prepared with fruit juices, water and sugar.
Cuara (Quara): A coin worth 25 cents. From the English, quarter.
Daim (Da-eem): A coin worth 10 cents. From the English, dime.
Vaina (Va-eena): The equivalent of "thing".
Mopri (Mo-pree): The word, "primo" (cousin) pronounced backwards. It means buddy or pal among middle and upper-class youths.
Pelao/Pela’a: Little boy or girl, and sometimes guy or gal.
¡Chuleta! (Choo-le-ta): A very popular expression denoting surprise or disappointment.
¡Chuzo! (Choo-zo): The same as ¡Chuleta!
Cranear (Cra-nee-ar): To think very hard.
Chicha ‘e piña (Chee-cha e peenya): A corruption of "Chicha de Piña" (pineapple drink). The equivalent of easy; a "piece of cake."

By Mary Deibel

Online entrepreneur Renee Ward wanted to start a Web site to help teenagers land their first job only to find that corporate employers sought to recruit an older crowd.

Today, her 5-year-old Web site - www.seniors4hire.org site - counts Bank of America, Regal Cinemas, Petco and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield among its clients.

These employers are ahead of the curve, to judge by a new white paper from consultant Ernst & Young:

It found that two-thirds of employers across a spectrum of industries are aware of an impending brain drain as 76 million-plus baby boomers march toward retirement, but fewer than a fourth of these firms consider the issue of strategic importance to their company's future, and fewer than 3 percent had tried phased retirement.

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, newly retired at 79, also warns that older workers will be vital to the nation's prosperity.

The latest boomer survey by AARP, the 50-plus lobby, finds that 80 percent of those born between 1946 and 1964 plan to work in retirement.

Already, some 7 million Americans 65 and over continue to work at least part-time, according to a new Putnam Investments report.

For now, however, Uncle Sam is standing in the way of many older workers under phased-retirement rules that forbid collecting a paycheck and a pension check from your current employer. So people "retire," then return as consultants, start a second retirement "career" - or go to work for a competitor.

The Bush administration proposed relaxing the rules in 2004, only to face criticism that its proposal was too complex, prompting a reworking that may be ready by mid-2006.

Meantime, the House approved easing of phased-retirement rules in the pension-overhaul bill it must negotiate with the Senate. The House provision would let workers 62 and older continue to work part-time for their employer and collect a partial pension.

Some companies couldn't afford to wait on Washington. Two years ago, Procter & Gamble and Eli Lilly executives launched YourEncore, a privately held Indianapolis company, to link retirees to companies that need scientists, engineers and other skilled people for short-term projects.

President Bush used Tuesday's State of the Union address to promise stepped-up science and math training for today's students, an initiative already blessed by the National Academy of Sciences. But corporate employers say there are too few homegrown Generation Xers to step in when boomer researchers retire, nor can companies get visas and security clearances in the numbers they need for young foreign Ph.D.s, Lawson says.

As General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt put it at a Washington gathering last week, the problem with training younger workers and students today is that "we had more sports-exercise majors graduate than electrical-engineering grads last year. If you want to be the massage capital of the world, you're well on your way."

Retiring "Baby Boomers", like those seen nowadays in Boquete, Bocas del Toro and Panama City, are not only looking for peace and relaxation. Their labor experience can have a tremendous, positive impact on the nation's economy.

The federal government is trying to retain older employees in its own work force - and not only because the departure of top people at the Federal Emergency Management Agency is cited as a key reason for its failure to respond to Hurricane Katrina.

With 44 percent of all federal workers eligible to retire over the next five years, agencies are offering flexible scheduling, reduced work hours and mentoring programs to capture older workers' institutional memory, a Society of Human Resource Management survey of federal personnel practices finds.

The health-care field also faces a talent shortage and has reached out to older professionals to come back aboard.

Among the pioneers in phased retirement is SSM Health Care of St. Louis, one of the nation's largest Catholic hospital systems. It won a waiver from the Internal Revenue Service to offer the option to older current employees like Kathlyn Peterson.

At 66, Peterson works three days a week at SSM's St. Mary's Hospital in Madison, Wis., for a paycheck, a pension check and health-care coverage, which the hospital provides to all employees who work 16 hours a week.

"Other facilities require at least 24, 32 or even 40 hours per week" to qualify for health insurance, Peterson told a recent Senate Aging Committee hearing into changes in federal phased-retirement rules. She calls health benefits "especially valuable" as a cancer survivor who would have trouble buying a policy to supplement Medicare coverage.

Health care is a constant concern for new and near-retirees. Employers are scaling back or doing away with retiree coverage, and 46 million Americans already go without any health insurance. With health-care costs rising 50 percent since 2000, many seniors look to return to work to get retirement expenses under control.

"'Will work for health benefits' is important to older job-seekers, and so is the extra money to cover rising medical costs," says Arthur Koff, a 70-year-old veteran of Chicago advertising who founded the www.retiredbrains.com online jobs board.

Ward, whose Web site operates out of Huntington Beach, Calif., adds that updated skills and a positive attitude help older workers when "they're competing against up-and-coming 35-year-olds and eager, willing and talented 55-year-olds, too."

Patricia Gates agrees that attitude counts. At 66, the former junior-college professor from Pittsburgh moved to Nebraska to be near family and "landed a job before the moving van arrived" teaching at the local junior college and working for the Omaha World-Herald's news-paper-in-education program.

"It's the can-do attitude with which you approach a job at any age that makes a difference," Gates says.

Colón athlete among the world’s best

Irving Saladino in action.

The world has a new star athlete and he is from Panama. His name is Irving Saladino, who recently won gold at a major long jump international competition in Berlin, Germany, which allocated over half-a-million dollars among six of the world’s most outstanding track-and-field athletes, including Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele, Jeremy Wariner, and Sanya Richards from the U.S. and Tirunesh Dibaba, also from Ethiopia.

Born in on January 23 1983, in the city of Colón, Saladino finished second at the World Indoor Championships with a new South American indoor record of 8.29 meters. Earlier this year, he won five out of six Golden League events in the same season, which earned him a total of $83,333. With 8.56 meters achieved back in May, he is the current South American record holder.