Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

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

Part XI (Labour inspection), Articles 71 to 84. The Government indicates that 1,499 child labour inspections were carried out between 2018 and the first quarter of 2023, granting protection for 5,668 young workers. The Government also indicates that 41,014 agreements were signed with employers and producers committing to not use child labour, and that 9,401 certificates were issued to young persons who met the minimum age for employment. However, the Committee notes that the Government does not provide detailed information on the type of violations observed or the type and number of penalties imposed. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to provide detailed and updated information on the measures to eliminate child labour on plantations, as well as their impact in practice, and to indicate in particular the type and total number of penalties imposed.

Part XIII (Medical care), Articles 89 to 91. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the number of plantation workers insured with the Nicaraguan Social Security Institute between December 2018 and March 2023. While in 2018, a total of 54,064 workers (40,266 men and 13,798 women) were registered, in March 2023, there was a total of 49,459 workers (35,576 men and 13,883 women). However, the Committee notes with regret that the Government does not provide the necessary detailed information on the specific measures adopted or envisaged to prevent occupational risks that threaten the health of plantation workers. The Committee also requests the Government to continue to provide statistical information disaggregated by sex, on the number of plantation workers registered with the Nicaraguan Social Security Institute.

Part IV (Minimum wages), Articles 24 and 25. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in reply to its previous comments on the number of inspections carried out and the corresponding results. The Government indicates that, between 2018 and the first quarter of 2023, 11,214 inspections were conducted in enterprises engaged in the production of coffee, tobacco, bananas, groundnuts and plantains, which covered 8,971 men and 2,242 women. These inspections have fostered a culture of compliance with Act No. 625 on minimum wages. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed and updated information on minimum wage developments and their impact on the purchasing power of workers. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate, in the future, the number and type of violations detected during the inspections mentioned. It further requests the Government to provide information on the consultations carried out with employers’ and workers’ representatives, and whether they included representatives from plantation workers’ organizations.

Part II of the Convention (Engagement and recruitment of migrant workers), Articles 5 to 19 of the Convention. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that 13,864 Nicaraguan workers (12,192 men and 1,672 women) left the country to work on plantations in Costa Rica between November 2020 and June 2023. In accordance with the bilateral agreements concluded with Nicaragua, Costa Rica ensures health, social security and occupational health and safety benefits for migrant workers. Costs for return travel to Nicaragua are covered by the contractor in Costa Rica. However, the Committee notes with regret that, despite the repeated requests for detailed information, the Government does not provide a comprehensive reply to those requests. The Committee therefore urges the Government to provide information on the number of Nicaraguan migrant workers engaged in work on plantations in Costa Rica who are participants in the Costa Rican Social Security Fund. It requests the Government to provide detailed information on the benefits granted to such workers under the occupational risk policy of the Costa Rican National Insurance Institute. In this regard, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the possibility of requesting this information from the Costa Rican authorities or from the national social security institutions that have had to terminate the membership of migrant workers in Costa Rica under the aforementioned bilateral agreement. The Committee reiterates its request to the Government to indicate whether the possibility of repatriation is provided for in the event of incapacity or illness of migrant workers and under which conditions.