Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Plantations Convention, 1958 (No. 110) - Nicaragua (Ratification: 1981)

Part II of the Convention (Engagement and recruitment and migrant workers). Articles 5–19. Further to its previous comment, the Committee notes the updated information contained in the Government’s report concerning the ongoing agreement between Nicaragua and Costa Rica, which began in 2007, regulating migration flows between the two countries. The Committee notes, in particular, the model employment contract used for the recruitment of Nicaraguan agricultural workers which contains provisions on hours of work, overtime remuneration, termination of employment, leave, transportation to and from the country of origin, and accommodation. The Committee further notes the Government’s statistical information according to which 3,055 migrant agricultural workers were registered in the period 2012–13, bringing the total number of Nicaraguan migrant agricultural workers since 2006 up to 18,154. The Government indicates that the majority of those workers are aged between 23 and 32 years, they work between five and six months in Costa Rica, that is, November to April, and they are exclusively male owing to the nature of the work. The Committee requests the Government to provide further details concerning the medical provisions, if any, for recruited workers, including any prescribed medical examinations (Article 11) and the possibility for repatriation for incapacity or illness (Article 14).

Part IV (Minimum wage). Articles 24–25. The Committee notes the Government’s reference to the Tripartite Agreement on the Legal Minimum Wage of March 2012, which provides for a 13 per cent increase in the minimum wage for the agricultural sector. The Committee also notes that according to the statistical information provided in the Government’s report, the agricultural minimum wage covers only 21.16 per cent of the value of a basic family basket (canasta básica), which is much lower than the corresponding figures for the mining (38.5 per cent), transport (39.3 per cent) or construction (48 per cent) sectors. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide updated information on the evolution of the minimum wage rate applicable in the agricultural sector and its purchasing power. It also requests the Government to refer to the comments made under the Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131).

Part XI (Labour inspection). Articles 71–84. The Committee understands that child labour is common in plantation work, particularly during the coffee harvests. The Committee also understands that the Ministry of Labour recently participated in the design and production of the Labour Guideline for Adolescents and further signed a Memorandum of Understanding to facilitate labour inspection visits to 56 coffee farms in Jinotega and Madriz to monitor adolescent work during the 2010–11 harvest. The Committee requests the Government to provide more detailed information on the impact these initiatives have had on combating the child labour in plantations and also indicate any additional measures taken or envisaged in this regard. The Committee would also appreciate receiving labour inspection statistics (for instance, number of visits, number and type of infringements observed, and sanctions imposed) with special reference to plantations.

Part XIII (Medical care). Articles 89–91. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that it has become party to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. The Committee understands that important health concerns have been raised in recent years in relation to work in sugar cane plantations, particularly as regards the chronic kidney disease that has reached alarming proportions among sugar cane workers. While noting that the World Bank has recently approved a new loan to expand sugar plantations in the country, the Committee requests the Government to provide together with its next report additional information on the prevailing occupational health risks that plantation workers are faced with and any measures taken to prevent such risks.