The International Labor Organization (ILO) urged, “in the strongest terms,” the dictatorial regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo to restore the legality of the Superior Council of Private Enterprise, the largest business organization in Nicaragua, which was illegalized a long time ago. one year and also that the persecution against independent trade union organizations and their leaders cease.
The energetic call of the specialized body of the United Nations (UN) to address the issue of labor relations was made during the 112th International Labor Conference, held in Geneva on June 13.
During the world meeting, the ILO Credentials Commission presented a report in which it relates the complaint by representatives of Nicaraguan employers detailing the repressive actions of the Nicaraguan dictatorship against independent unions and private companies. , as well as the persecution against union and business leaders, who have suffered exile, prison, denationalization, confiscations and exile.
«The Commission urged the Government, in the strongest terms, to: guarantee that workers and employers can establish their own organizations and carry out their activities without interference and, in relation to this, that the Superior Council of Private Enterprise of Nicaragua (COSEP) can operate again without prior authorization, in accordance with Article 2 of the Convention,” says part of the conclusions of the Conference.
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Likewise, it urges “to immediately put an end to any act of violence, threat, persecution, stigmatization, intimidation or any other form of aggression against persons or organizations, in relation to the exercise of the legitimate activities of both unions and labor organizations.” employers, and take measures to ensure that such acts are not repeated.
Likewise, the ILO “deeply deplores” the persistent climate of intimidation and harassment of independent workers’ and employers’ organizations.
The repression against COSEP has been such that Ortega imprisoned the active president and vice president of said business organization and then banished them. The president in full exercise of his mandate, businessman Michael Healy, died in exile.
In particular, the UN body declares its “concern” at the reports of arrest and detention of employer leaders and the further deterioration of the situation.
In this sense, the ILO urges the Ortega-Murillo regime to restore “without delay” the Nicaraguan nationality to the representatives of employers’ organizations who have been deprived of their national status; adopt all necessary measures to guarantee “the existence of a climate free of fear and intimidation in relation to the exercise of freedom of association rights; “immediately release any employer or trade union member who may be imprisoned in connection with the exercise of the legitimate activities of their organizations, and report on all measures taken to comply with such request.”
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They also call on the State of Nicaragua to reestablish “without delay” social dialogue with its independent social partners, including the establishment of a tripartite dialogue table under the auspices of the ILO, as recommended by the Conference Committee in 2022 and 2023.
Likewise, the ILO Conference concludes that the Nicaraguan State must comply with all the recommendations issued by that UN body and provide information on all the measures adopted to guarantee compliance with said recommendations.
Dictatorship denies complaints
Faced with complaints from Nicaraguan employers, who also complained because the dictatorship has sent a totally biased representation to the ILO Conference, the dictatorship dared to deny them, saying that the Nicaraguan representation is made up of the most trade unions and business organizations. representatives of the country.
According to the dictatorship, the National Chamber of Small Industry (CONAPI) and the Association for the Promotion of Development and Sustainability of Nicaragua (APRODESNI) are the most representative employers’ and workers’ organizations in the country, ignoring the illegalized COSEP.
The ILO reminded the Managua regime that the information transmitted to the organization’s Commission demonstrates that COSEP and other organizations “have been deprived of legal existence.” In this sense, “the Commission recalls that, according to its jurisprudence, the mere fact that an organization may not have legal recognition does not exonerate the Government from consulting it, since article 3(5) of the ILO Constitution only refers to the existence of employers’ and workers’ organizations, and not to their legal existence”, therefore “if COSEP still existed in fact, the Government should have consulted it”, concluded the organization’s Conference.
The Committee recalls that, under article 3(5) of the ILO Constitution, the Government has the obligation to consult the most representative employers’ organizations. It notes that the Government has never expressly denied that COSEP is the most representative employers’ organization in the country.
