Numbers and cost of civil servants balloons

SALARIES of civil servants during the first three months of the year totaled $602.4 million, $ 48.8 million or 8.8 % more than in the same period last year, says Panama’s Comptroller General.

The rise follows the statutory wage increases and increased staffing in the last year.

From March 2013 to March 2014, the State added 7,857 staff bring the payroll to 204, 904 officials.
The comparison with July 2009, when Ricardo Martinelli, took office shows an increase in the State payroll of nearly 35,000 employees.
According to Alfredo Berrocal , general secretary of the National Federation of Public Servants , considering redundancies were made in the first months of the Martinelli administration, it can be calculated that this administration has added between 70,000 and 75,000 workers reports La Prensa
With the entry of the new government , Berrocal a need to follow the requirements of the Administrative Careers Act , so as to select the most qualified workers to provide quality service . The State, he said, " should not be a factory generating jobs ."