Trade unionists who promote it, the officials who estimate it, the rulers who decree it, are not part of the legion of unemployed who surely would work for less than the official minimum wage.
EDITORIAL
The unemployed have no voice, in principle because they do not pay a sindical fee, and if they did have one, they would not raise it, because it feels devoid of the dignity necessary to do so, because they are used to adopting a very humble position in job interviews. Nothing further impoverishes the human spirit that lack of gainful income of one form or another.
The business sector in Nicaragua has suggested that in addition to inflation and economic growth the level of productivity of workers should be taken into account when defining salary adjustments.
According to employers the current legislation has not been changed in 10 years, therefore the method for making adjustments to wages does not reflect the changes that have been experienced in the production structures in companies.
The Ministry of Labor will define the wage adjustment in the absence of an agreement between the private sector and trade unions.
In the last meeting on 13 March the parties were not able to reach an agreement. The private company proposed an increase of 9%, while unions demanded an adjustment of between 10% and 14%.
Freddy Blandon, representative of the Superior Council of Private Enterprise, Cosep noted that "...
In order to balance the social security finances the Government of Nicaragua wants to increase employer's contributions from 16% to 19% .
Bayardo Arce, economic affairs adviser to the President, was the person who presented the project to representatives of the Superior Council of Private Enterprise (Cosep).
"... The first point of the proposal is that the Government undertakes to pay 2% of the state's debt to the INSS, estimated between $580 and $600 million, or pay it off within 50 years", reported Prensa.com.
The proposal by the business sector, which includes negotiating and approving wage agreements every three years, aims to stimulate investment and create more stability.
The initiative would be presented to the Government and the trade unions by the Superior Council of Private Enterprise (Cosep). According to the president of Cosep, José Adán Aguerri, "in light of the slow growth of the world economy and the fall in international prices of commodities such as coffee, gold and sugar, minimum wage agreements shoudl be set for a period of three years in order to make the country more productive and competitive," noted an article in Elnuevodiario.com.ni.
Starting on the first of September the minimum wage will increase by between 4% and 6% depending on the sector.
The adjustment will be 4% for the micro and small crafts sector, as well as for the tourism activity. For the remaining companies, the required increase will be 6%.
Excluded from this increase are all industries subject to fiscal regimes, as they are governed by the social-labor coalition of the tripartite commission for free zones ".
Business owners, unions and the government reached an agreement to increase the basic salary of urban workers in most sectors by 12.5% and by 13% for farm workers.
Though he had previously announced the business association he represents would not participate in a meeting scheduled for today, Jose Adan Aguerri, president of the Higher Council of Private Enteprise (COSEP in Spanish), came back to the negotiating table in the last moment, what allowed all parts to make a deal.
A rate of 10% per year was agreed for MSMEs in Nicaragua.
The National Minimum Wage Commission has decided that there will be a semi-annual adjustment of 118 Cordobas ($5.16) to the wages of workers in micro, small and medium businesses, according to Laprensa.com.ni review.
The adjustment, which became effective for MSMEs yesterday was signed in consensus with the Government, unions and the Nicaraguan Council of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (Conimipyme) and the National Chamber of Small Industry (Conapi) said Labor Minister, Jeannette Chávez.
Representatives of private enterprise, government and workers will meet at the National Minimum Wage Commission, scheduled for this week, to ratify a 6% increase starting from 16 August.
The agreement signed last February established a minimum wage increase of 13% to be applied in two stages, on Feb. 16 and on Aug. 16.
"Although there is a possibility that at the negotiating table, the National Workers Front (FNT) trade union will request a review in order to get a higher percentage, business leaders will not accept it.
As of February 28 an increase of 7% will be put in place, and another 6% during the second half of the year.
The increase was defined by a tripartite commission composed of government, unions and the private sector and it applies to the eight sectors of the economy.
"The National Minimum Wage Commission ratified the 8% salary increase for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME)", states the article in Laprensa.com.ni.
The 6% increase will apply from next Monday 16 August to both the public and private sectors.
In February the Nicaraguan government, businesses and unions agreed a total increase of 12% for 2010, to be applied as two half-yearly 6% adjustments.
Union leaders sought a larger rise in this second half of the year but in the end, "they signed the document, laying aside the proposal that the minimum wage should increase in line with the basic shopping basket," reports Laprensa.com.ni.
The Labor Ministry approved an 8% in the minimum wage paid to construction workers.
It applies to masons, carpenters and builders, and will only apply for new construction projects, not to those already underway. It does not apply to housing projects either.
“The Nicaraguan Construction Chamber must give unions a list of projects already underway. Only those will be exempt from the measure”, reported local newspaper La Prensa.
The gaps among salaries from Guatemala, Panama and Costa Rica are disappearing.
When observing the current Pricewaterhouse Coopers study there are some conclusions that stand out. There are categories in the region. Salaries are highest in Guatemala, Panama and Costa Rica, a little lower in El Salvador and Nicaragua, and much lower in Honduras, despite improvements.
Nicaragua's Labor Ministry is preparing to sit down with business and labor representatives on July 24 to discuss the nation's minimum wage.
In Nicaragua, the minimum wage is applied to nine sectors of the economy and must be adjusted every six months.
Inflation is currently running close to 12 percent per year. The minimum wage is currently 1,901 cordobas, or just under 100 dollars, per month.