It’s a new year and time for Nicaragua’s Minimum Wage Commission to sit down for the minimum wage negotiations in order to reach a consensus on this year’s minimum wage increase by February 28th 2024.
When last year’s minimum wage increase was set, the Minimum Wage Commission announced they will re-convene in the second week of January 2024 in order to begin the process for a new minimum wage starting March 1st 2024.
This will be of interest to those foreigners with businesses that have employees and/or those foreigners with staff such as housekeeping, a cuidador, gardening etc.
Wage Commission
As usual, and in accordance with Nicaragua’s Labor Code, the three groups that make up the commission represent; 1) the workers (represented by various unions), 2) employers (last year represented by the Association for the Promotion of Development and Sustainability of Nicaragua – APRODESNI), and 3) the government (through the Ministry of Labor or MITRAB).
Current Monthly Minimum Wage by Category
Minimum Wage Work Week
The Labor Code defines the “Standard Work Week” for the purposes of calculating the monthly minimum wage (typically paid on the 15th and last day of the month) as 8 hours a day from Monday to Saturday for a total of 48 hours, if these hours are worked between 6am and 8pm.
Night workers will only work 7 hours per day if their shift is anytime between 8pm and 6am the next day for a total of 42 hours per week.
“Mixed Hours” workers total 7.5 hours per day if they are working mixed hours of days and nights for a maximum of 45 hours weekly.
NOTE: Zona Franca Regime
On January 1st 2024, the Zona Franca workers (about 135,000 workers Subject to a Special Regime) received their second annual increase under a five year contract which awarded them minimum wage increases as follows; 2023 – 8%, 2024 – 8%, 2025 – 7%, 2026 – 6.7%, and 2027 – 6.7%. Therefore, they are not part of the regular minimum wage negotiations.
As of January 1, 2024, the 8% increase for Zona Franca workers (typically; industrial parks, export tobacco products, call centers, clothing and textile, wiring harnesses, agribusiness, shrimp farms etc.) increased their monthly minimum wage to 8,746 Córdobas.
