LABOR

Labor Rights in Nicaragua

Nicaragua has progressive labor laws which guarantee workers’ rights such as two months paid maternity leave, one month of vacation per year, and payment of a one-month end-of-year bonus. By law, workers in the formal sector must be signed up for social security (INSS), which provides them with medical care and pays into their retirement fund (workers pay 7% of their salary to INSS, employers pay 26.5%).

Since the Sandinista government came back into office in 2007, government institutions have done a much better job of enforcing labor laws and supporting workers. In that time, 3,010 tripartite labor negotiation sessions have been held with representatives from the government, employers, and the unions.

Trade Unions

Nicaragua is a country with many organized labor unions and trade union leaders can be found at all levels of government as well. “Union leaders in the health sector and education sector, artisans, peasants, workers, the self-employed,” are all represented there, says Nicaraguan National Assembly Deputy Flor Avellán, head of the union of self-employed workers. “That is something historic, it really fills one with pride because...when our members, our sisters and brothers look at us they say, ‘Wow, now we have a [National Assembly] deputy; now it's us in there; we are really included.’” 

There have been 1,636 new unions formed since 2006, for a total of more than 1.2 million Nicaraguan workers affiliated in unions. In 2023, 61 collective bargaining agreements were signed, benefitting nearly 1.8 million workers, 52% of whom are women.

Cooperatives

In that same period, 4,872 new worker-owned cooperatives have been formed with a total of 131,730 members, 60,000 of whom are women.

Wages

·         550% increase in minimum wage over 17 years, benefitting 258,715 workers, of whom 40% are women

·         681% increase in minimum wage in free trade zones since 2006

·         138,374 women who were working for less than minimum wage have had their salaries raised to the minimum

Compliance

·         70,452 companies have signed commitments to not use child labor and to respect the rights of adolescent workers

·         Since 2007, the number of annual workplace labor rights inspections has tripled

·         Since 2007, the number of annual child labor inspections has increased 46-fold

·         40,604 workers have been supported to file claims against their employers, resulting in $8.8 million in awards for workers

Inclusion

·         The Labor Code has been translated into the Miskitu language (Wark Laka Plamaia)

·         14,750 non-discrimination and equality inspections have been have been conducted at work sites since 2007 when the policy was implemented, restoring the right to work to 192,415 women workers