Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Paid Educational Leave Convention, 1974 (No. 140) - Nicaragua (Ratification: 1981)

The Committee takes note of the supplementary information provided by the Government in light of the decision adopted by the Governing Body at its 338th Session (June 2020). The Committee proceeded with the examination of the application of the Convention on the basis of the supplementary information received from the Government this year, as well as on the basis of the information at its disposal in 2019.

Articles 2, 3 and 6 of the Convention. Formulation and application of a policy designed to promote the granting of paid educational leave. Participation of the social partners. In its previous comments, the Committee asked the Government to provide information on the formulation and application, in cooperation with the social partners, of policies and measures to promote the granting of paid educational leave for the purposes of vocational training at any level, general, social and civic education, and trade union education, and to send the relevant texts. It also asked the Government to provide up-do-date statistical information, disaggregated by sex, on workers who have received paid educational leave. However, the Committee notes that the Government does not provide information on the formulation or application of policies and measures to promote paid educational leave. With regard to the number of workers who have received paid educational leave during the period covered by the report, the Government indicates that it does not have any record of applications submitted or granted for paid educational leave for vocational or professional training. The Committee recalls that the principal obligation of the Convention is the one referred to in Article 2: to formulate and apply a policy designed to promote the granting of paid educational leave for the purposes stipulated (see the 1991 General Survey, Human resources development, paragraph 327). Accordingly, the Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to Paragraphs 7–10 of the Paid Educational Leave Recommendation, 1974 (No. 148), which provides guidance on measures for the promotion of paid educational leave. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to provide up-to-date information on the formulation and application, in cooperation with the social partners, of policies and measures to promote the granting of paid educational leave for the purposes of vocational training at any level, general, social and civic education, and trade union education, and to send the relevant texts.

Article 4. Coordination of general policies on employment with the policy for promotion of paid educational leave. For several years, the Committee has been asking the Government to provide detailed information on the measures taken to coordinate national policy on paid educational leave with general policies on employment, education and vocational training. However, the Committee observes that the Government still does not provide any information on this matter. On the other hand, the Committee notes the information provided by the Government regarding the measures taken to reinforce technical training in the country. Among other things, the Government refers to the implementation of training measures for teachers and instructors by the National Training Centre for Teachers and Instructors (CNFDI), and the participation in various workshops on improvements to the management and planning of vocational training institutions held by the Central American Network of Vocational Training Institutes (REDIFP). In this regard, the Commission takes note of the detailed information provided by the Government in its supplementary report concerning the various training modules of the CNFDI and its regional offices, the number of teachers who were trained as technical education specialists and of instructors who were certified as vocational training facilitators between 2018 and 2019, as well as those who were being trained in 2020. The Government further indicates that, as of 2019, such training is also accessible, under certain conditions, to the general public. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide detailed information on the measures taken to coordinate national policy on paid educational leave with general policies on employment, education and vocational training, as required by Article 4 of the Convention.

Part V of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including, for example, results of inspections, extracts from reports, studies and surveys, and also statistics disaggregated by sex on the number of workers who have benefited from the various arrangements for paid educational leave (for the purposes of vocational training, general, social and civic education, and trade union education) during the period covered by the report.