Labor Tripartite Agreement is signed in Nicaragua
In the face of a health emergency, such as the one that is affecting most of the world’s nations, it is necessary for each state, to the extent of its possibilities, to adopt the necessary measures to reduce the impact on the population.
In this sense, and in view of the possible outbreak of COVID-19, the signing of the Tripartite Agreement on March 24th, 2020 demonstrated the will of workers and employers to share the obligation to ensure the health of workers and their families, without neglecting the development of business activity of companies as a basic unit of the national economy.
In addition to the consensus reached by the parties, it should be noted that, having been endorsed by the Ministry of Labor, this agreement could be adopted by other economic sectors and even by the authorities of the executive branch, who have not yet issued any provisions; and therefore, in the absence of a state of emergency, the business and labor sectors are sailing in a sea of uncertainty.
Among the objective elements of this agreement, it is important to highlight that we find non-traditional legal figures, such as teleworking. Likewise, the position of the MITRAB is made more flexible by guaranteeing that the employer can send his workers on vacation, even if they do not have accumulated days in their favor.
This tripartite agreement offers a range of opportunities for the other labor sectors and, at the same time, in the short or medium term, it becomes part of our labor legislation, although in a complementary way. This should be considered as an eventual reform of the Labor Code with the purpose of regulating teleworking, work with reduced hours, among others.
Gerardo Escorcia Díaz
Associate
García & Bodán
Nicaragua