The third round of minimum wage talks were held last week. To date, no less than five different proposals are on the table and being discussed by the various members of the Minimum Wage Commission.
There is no consensus yet but the commission has plenty of time to reach one by the 28th of February deadline. If no agreement is reached, the government can (through the Ministry of Labor – MITRAB) order a rate of increase for March 1st 2023. Talks will resume next week.
MITRAB confirmed that the latest of the 5 minimum wage proposals came from the Confederation of Sugar Workers (and associates) with a proposal of a 12% increase.
Much of the discussion centers around the fair and reasonable recovery of the purchasing power of those on minimum wage who are most affected by inflation.
As has been the case since the civil unrest in 2018, the Superior Council of Private Enterprise (COSEP) has not been attending this year’s meetings which were established on January 19th 2023. COSEP is a non-profit civil association made up of various chambers representing a broad spectrum of business interests.
So far, non-union interests have been represented by the Association for the Promotion of Development and Sustainability of Nicaragua (APRODESNI). Donald Baltodano, representing small and medium-sized businesses through APRODESNI agreed with the 9% figure proposed by the Sandinista Central Union (CST Central Sandinista de Trabajadores).
Hours of Work in Nicaragua
The ordinary working day, determined by law or agreement between the parties (individual contract or collective agreement) is;
Day Work – 8 hours per day, 48 hours per week for day work between 6am and 8pm.
Night work – between 8 pm and 6 am the next day, the maximum hours allowed per day is 7 hours per day or 42 per week.
Mixed Schedule – for those on a mixed schedule of day and night shifts, the maximum hours allowed is 7.5 hours per day or 45 hours per week.
Link for Official Minimum Wage Agreement from last year 2022.
