Panama Retirees and Business Owners are Making Progress on a New Bill Regarding Discounts.
Mulino vetoes two bills on benefits for retirees and the Assembly’s regulations. Retirees demand that Mulino keep his word regarding the discount law for October 31st. Retirees indicate that their priorities include discounts on food, health, and services such as internet, as well as other products.
Following President José Raúl Mulino’s veto of bill 226, which would have extended discounts for retirees and pensioners, meetings between unions, business leaders, and members of parliament continue in search of a new proposed law that can reach the National Assembly.
Guillermo Cortés of the Worlds of Retirees Movement
Retirees Hope to Reach a Consensus.
Points of consensus are beginning to emerge at the table, mainly regarding benefits linked to the daily needs of older adults.
“We have reached a consensus on an important issue: that we do require discounts, that discounts are supported, because denying discounts to a person who doesn’t have many resources today and who needs, for example, a wheelchair, is completely unjust,” says Guillermo Cortés pictured above of the Worlds of Retirees Movement.
Retirees indicate that their priorities include discounts on food, health, and services such as internet, as well as other frequently used products.
Alberto López Tom pictured above, president of the Panamanian Association of Business Executives (Apede), acknowledges that business owners are aware that there is a need among retirees that must be addressed. “It is our responsibility to seek the viability of a proposal that represents an economic improvement for this sector and that is not at the expense of the private sector,” he said. Meanwhile, other proposals in the 226 that aimed for greater discounts on hotels and flights would no longer move forward. Retirees hope the proposal will be ready to be approved, passed, and enacted before October 31, while talks continue between the sectors involved.
