Failure to respect the rights of workers, especially those who work in companies attached to the free trade zone regime in Nicaragua, could have consequences if the United States, the European Union, or the International Labor Organization (ILO) itself decided to apply the existing treaties.
CONFIDENTIAL published the testimonials from eleven workers of companies established in industrial parks of the free zone of Managua, Masatepe, San Marcos and Niquinohomo. Consistently, ten of them denounced verbal abuse, reprisals for seeking medical help, sudden dismissals, and defenselessness on the part of some unions that choose to look the other way, and of a Ministry of Labor (Mitrab), which is on the side of the businessmen.
The perception of the workers interviewed is that the unions are either on the side of the bosses, or simply do not have the capacity to defend their rights, because the entire system prevents them from fulfilling their role.
Lawyer Juan Antonio López, from the Defensores del Pueblo organization, is very clear about this from his experience as a labor solicitor: “In free zone companies, the right to free unionization is violated… in collusion with the Mitrab authorities,” he asserts. emphatically.
This coincides with the experience of Ana Gómez, former promoter of the Defense of Women’s Rights, in the Movement of Working and Unemployed Women “María Elena Cuadra”, who remembers that she and several of her colleagues, including workers with five or ten years of seniority, they suffered a collective dismissal and “the State did nothing for us. We were abandoned and unprotected as women. We received no response at all.”
“The regime sided with the textile industry and the franchises. In Nicaragua, workers are not protected; Labor rights and labor legislation are not complied with, ”he says.
Although they need the job, the ongoing frustrations cause some to simply withdraw and decide not to fight for their rights. Wilmer Martínez, fired from a free zone company based on false accusations, said that when he was fired, he decided not to look for legal options, and declares himself “tired of working 13 years in those companies because they pay low wages that are not compensated by the the price of the basic basket, besides that it is very unstable, because there is not always work”.
Cafta and the AdA
Beyond the ignored national legislation, Nicaragua is a signatory to various international treaties and agreements, among which two stand out in particular: the Free Trade Agreement between the Dominican Republic, Central America and the United States (DR-Cafta, for its acronym in English). ), and the Association Agreement between Central America and the European Union (AdA).
Chapter 16 of the DR-Cafta text protects the right of association; that of organizing and negotiating collectively; the prohibition of the use of any form of forced or compulsory labor; a minimum age for the employment of children, and the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour; as well as acceptable working conditions regarding minimum wages, working hours, and occupational health and safety.
“This chapter refers more to general legal and regulatory aspects, the institutional strengthening of labor rights, physical security, training, and the rights that emanate from the conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO), such as the minimum wage , working hours, or health, defining which standards must be considered, starting with the Labor Code, Social Security, and the ILO Conventions, told CONFIDENTIAL a labor consultant who asked not to be named.
The expert recalls that the AdA “clearly says that if the democratic guidelines are not met, the Free Trade Agreement with the European Union can be broken”, although in terms of labor rights (and others), the text of the Association Agreement points more towards the obligation to comply with national laws, in the understanding that this coincides with international agreements on the matter.
The ILO ‘factor’
“In addition to these free trade agreements, the ILO could enter, which is not coercive, but makes calls, and informs the United Nations and says that such a country is failing to comply with certain agreements that are mandatory,” explains López, recalling that by Being Nicaragua a signatory to the ILO Treaties, it is obliged to seek a decent wage, stability at work, compliance with occupational hygiene and safety, etc.
“By failing to comply with this, the ILO can pass on its recommendations to the United Nations, and the latter calls on countries to take it into consideration. They also make recommendations to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. If the ILO submits a report to the Fund and the Bank, I bet that Nicaragua is not going to enjoy loans from those financial institutions, because it is not complying with labor legislation, and rather acts against and to the detriment of the working class,” he added. he.
Two other experts on international trade rules told CONFIDENTIALalso on condition of anonymity, who do not believe that, despite the workers’ complaints, the complicity of Mitrab and the unions, and what is written in the DR-Cafta, the AdA, and the ILO Conventions, This constitutes a problem for the Government of Nicaragua.
“It doesn’t sound like a practice that’s giving problems to me. As far as I know, there have been no cases submitted to the administration mechanism of the Free Trade Agreement” with the United States, said one of them, while his colleague recalled that “chapter 16 is governed by the national legislation of each country, and I believe that the laws of the countries have been complied with, because they supervise them”.
In the case of the ILO, the main problem is that “they only receive complaints from union leaders”, but many unionists do not have the academic preparation to deal with the law or international treaties with the ILO, in addition to the fact that the unions are related to the Government, so it is not likely that they will denounce that same Government, López explained.
CONFIDENTIAL wrote to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) without receiving a response. Likewise, he sought reactions with Dean García, executive director of the Nicaraguan Association of the Textile and Clothing Industry (Anitec), but he did not respond either.
