include annual vacations and the use of dormitory facilities for the women 

 who work after dark, but in general the iVinge benefits are few. Most 

 full-time workers are covered by social-security, for which the worker 

 pays h percent and the eng^loyer h percent. 



The social security benefits include both payinont in kind and 

 payment in money. Payment in kind is generally in the form of free 

 hospital and medical care, but it does not completely cover these costs. 

 Monetary corpensation includes maternity benefits and old-age and disa- 

 bility pensions. There are no unen^^loyment provisions in the Panamanian 

 social security law. 



The employer is responsible for indemnity in case of accidental 

 death or temporarj'- disability of an employee. Insurance against these 

 professional risks costs 6 percent of the gross salary. 



Full-time workers are entitled to a 1-raonth vacation for every 

 11 months vrorked. They are also entitled to an advance notice of termina- 

 tion i-riiich varies from 2U hours after 1 week of work up to 2 months after 

 2 years or more. The vacation and termination-notice featxires of the law 

 are generally calculated to cost the eiiiployer about 1? percent of the 

 gross salary of an eng^loyee. 



FOREIGN TRADE 



Exports 2i/ 



Panama is not a great exporting country. Total exports in 

 1953 amounted to about 015.5 milD.ion of which over $lU million, or mo3re 

 than 90 percent, went to the United States. Foodstuffs valued at about 



51 / The figures cited in this section are from official Panamanian 

 sources. The export figures in poundages may be greater than actual, 

 and the values smaller. They are based on export licenses, for which 

 no charges are made. The practice of the shippers is to obtain, a day 

 or two in advance, a license to export "X" amoiuit of shrimp. It is 

 customary, when the exact amount to be exported is not knoim, to apply 

 for a permit allowing exportation of a greater amount than anticipated. 

 A copy of this document goes to the Bureau of Statistics and Census, 

 The actual amount exported, which appears on the customs agent's copy, 

 may not be sent to the Bureau of Statistics and Census for rectification 

 of the original request. 



The declared value is usually lovjer than the true value, since 

 it represents an estimate by the shipper who generally, for business 

 reasons, luiderestimates the value of the product. One source estimates 

 that the value should be twenty to forty percent higher than sham. 



iho 



