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

Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 144) - Nicaragua (Ratification: 1981)

Complaint submitted under article 26 of the ILO Constitution. The Committee notes that, at its 349th Session (October 2023), the Governing Body declared receivable a complaint submitted under article 26 of the Constitution by several employer delegates at the International Labour Conference in 2023, who alleged the failure by the Government of Nicaragua to comply with this Convention and with the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), and the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111). The Committee notes that, at its 350th Session in March 2024, the Governing Body: (i) took note of the deep concerns expressed by the Committee and by the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards in their latest examination of the implementation by the Government of Nicaragua of the Conventions which are the subject of the article 26 complaint; (ii) urged the Government to address, as a matter of urgency, the serious compliance gaps identified and to accept ILO technical assistance to that effect; (iii) requested the Government and the social partners to provide detailed information on all the issues raised in the complaint to the Governing Body at its 352nd Session (October–November 2024); and (iv) deferred to its 352nd Session the decision to consider further action in respect of the article 26 complaint, in light of the follow-up given to the above.

The Committee also notes that, at its 352nd Session in November 2024, the Governing Body: (i) recalled the deep concerns expressed by the Committee and by the Conference Committee in their latest examination of the implementation by the Government of Nicaragua of the Conventions that are the subject of the article 26 complaint; (ii) deplored the lack of meaningful engagement of the Government, and the fact that it has responded to none of the Office communications and has not provided the information requested by the Governing Body; (iii) urged the Government to address the issues raised in the complaint as a matter of urgency; (iv) called on the Government to respond to the Office communications and to provide the information requested since the 350th Session (March 2024) of the Governing Body as soon as possible; and (v) decided to send a high-level tripartite mission to assess the issues raised in the complaint, and to provide a full report to the Governing Body at its 353rd Session (March 2025) and defer the decision on further action in accordance with article 26 of the Constitution to that session. The Committee firmly hopes that the Government will adopt without delay the necessary measures to enable the ILO high-level tripartite mission to take place, and hopes that these measures will address, in the near future, the matters raised in the complaint, including those related to this Convention.

Articles 1, 2, 3(1) and 5 of the Convention. Most representative organizations of employers and workers. Appropriate procedures. Effective tripartite consultations. The Committee refers to its observation of 2023 on the application of Convention No. 87 by Nicaragua, in which it noted the observations of the International Organisation of Employers (IOE), in which the IOE expressed deep concern at the ministerial decisions adopted on 3 March 2023 through which the Government arbitrarily and unlawfully annulled the legal personality of the Higher Council for Private Enterprise of Nicaragua (COSEP), the most representative employers’ organization in Nicaragua established three decades ago and a member of the IOE, as well as its 18 affiliated associations. In this respect, the Committee notes that, in its 2024 conclusions on the application of Convention No. 87, the Conference Committee urged the Government, in the strongest terms, to ensure that workers and employers can establish their own organizations and operate without interference and in that regard ensure that, COSEP is able to operate again without previous authorization. The Committee also refers to its 2024 observation on Convention No. 87, in which, similarly to the Conference Committee, it deeply deplores the persistent climate of intimidation and harassment of workers’ and employers’ organizations and reiterates its deep concern about the alleged arrest and detention of employers’ officials since last year.

In this regard, the Committee underscores that, in accordance with the definition provided in Article 1 of the Convention, the most representative organizations of employers and workers are those that enjoy the right of freedom of association. The Committee recalls that “… the reference to the ‘right of freedom of association’ is intended to guarantee that consultations take place under conditions in which representative organizations have an opportunity to express their point of view in total freedom and independence, which can only be guaranteed through full respect for the principles embodied in Conventions Nos 87 and 98, which include the right of all workers and employers to establish and join organizations of their own choosing, the right of such organizations to manage their own internal affairs without interference by the public authorities, and the right of employers’ and workers’ organizations to protection from acts of interference by each other” (2000 General Survey on tripartite consultation, paragraph 40).

Regarding the holding of tripartite consultations on all matters concerning international labour standards covered by the Convention (Article 5 of the Convention), the Committee recalls that, in its previous comments, it requested the Government to provide detailed and updated information on the frequency, content and outcomes of those consultations. In this regard, the Committee notes with regret the aforementioned Government’s report in which it merely reiterates that the country’s most representative social partners have been informed of the questionnaires on the items included on the agenda of the International Labour Conference, the replies to the questionnaires under article 19 of the ILO Constitution and the reports on ratified Conventions under article 22 of the ILO Constitution. The Government states that, in general, the reports are made in the form indicated by the Governing Body and contain the requirements of the Committee, and the replies to the questionnaires include the comments received on those questionnaires. The Government adds that, between 2018 and 2023, 53 reports were submitted on ratified Conventions. In this regard, the Committee highlights that the consultation of employers’ and workers’ organizations implies their active participation and the formulation and communication of their respective views. The Committee is bound to once again recall that this obligation to consult the representative organizations on the reports to be made concerning the application of ratified Conventions must be clearly distinguished from the obligation to communicate these reports under article 23, paragraph 2, of the Constitution. In order to fulfil their obligations under this provision of the Convention, it is not sufficient for governments to communicate to employers’ and workers’ organizations copies of the reports that they send to the Office, since any comments that these organizations may subsequently transmit to the Office on these reports cannot replace the consultations which have to be held during the preparation of the reports (General Survey of 2000, paragraph 92). In the light of the above elements, and with reference to its comments on the application of Convention No. 87, the Committee firmly urges the Government to take, without further delay, all the necessary measures to ensure that effective tripartite consultations are held with the most representative employers’ and workers’ organizations, and that they enjoy, in law and in practice, the right to freedom of association, in accordance with Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. In this regard, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide detailed and updated information on the frequency, content and outcomes of the tripartite consultations held on all matters related to international labour standards covered by Article 5(1)(a)-(e) of the Convention.