BRIEFS: Tourism

Future of atlapa workers unknown

LA PRENSA

for sale: The Atlapa Convention Center will soon be sold, but the fate of its workers is still up in the air. 1082781

Workers in the Atlapa Convention Center, which is scheduled to be auctioned by the Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas, are concerned about their futures once the building is turned over to the private sector.

The workers, who are currently on the payroll of the Instituto Panameño de Turismo (Ipat), have already been told that they will not be transferred to the Autoridad de Turismo de Panamá (ATP). “The ATP is going to have a significantly reduced staff,” said Ipat Director Rubén Blades. “We need a modern institution that is efficient.”

Aracelly De Gracia, the workers' legal representative, said that Ipat is treating them “like commodities.”

“They are people who have accumulated experience and who have made sacrifices,” he said.

The ATP has budgeted operating expenses, including workers' salaries, for Atlapa until December 2009. It has also set aside funds to compensate workers if the entity that takes over the convention center decides not to hire them.