NSCAG: news feed

Nicaraguan giants in solidarity for A Future That Works demo

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 18:40:15 GMT

Two Nicaraguan giants were among the 150,000 protesters at the March For a Future That Works, 20 October, convened by TUC. NSC, NSCAG and our highly valued supporters carried the two folklore gigantonas, two enanos (dwarves), the banner, and importantly, MESSAGES OF SOLIDARITY from Nicaraguan unions. In this time of unprecedented cuts threatening the most vulnerable sectors of society, we made the point:

New union legal office enjoys great success in its first year thanks to UNISON support

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 15:47:24 GMT

Unison International Development Fund has for the last year been supporting a much needed Legal Office in Nicaragua. Run by the public sector union UNE, the office is the first of its kind in the country and provides advice and advocacy for workers whose rights have been violated.

BishopsTake your rosaries out of our overies Raped young girls forced to give birth

Fri, 05 Oct 2012 16:46:31 GMT

Women’s groups commemorated the International Day for the Decriminalization of Therapeutic Abortion with a car caravan to the Supreme Court, Ministry of Health, the Public Prosecutors Office, the office of the National Police, and the National Assembly.

New minimum wage agreement reached - 6 rise

Fri, 31 Aug 2012 17:26:49 GMT

On Aug. 23, representatives from labour, private business and the government agreed to a 6% rise in the minimum wage for ten sectors of the Nicaraguan economy to take effect on Sept. 1. For small handicraft and tourism businesses, the increase will be 4%. Salaries in free trade zone factories are agreed to in separate negotiations. Union leader Roberto Gonzalez of the Sandinista Worlers Central (CST) said that the salaries of agricultural workers were still much too low. “We have to make better adjustments when we meet again in January,” he said. Jose Adan Aguerri, however, insisted that job stability required that salaries not increase excessively. He was open to a review of the costs of the basket of basic goods as labor leaders have demanded. The unions asked Labour Minister Jeannette Chavez to convene the National Minimum Wage Commission to seek ways to prevent an increase in the prices of basic goods which often occurs after wages go up.

Consumers to the north of us producers to the south Nicaraguas struggle against drug gangs

Fri, 31 Aug 2012 15:43:28 GMT

On 23rd August 2012 at the XXXI Extraordinary Meeting of the Commission of Police Chiefs and Directors from Central America, the Caribbean, Mexico and Colombia in Managua, Nicaragua’s National Police Commissioner Aminta Granera said that the chiefs had agreed not to depend on international aid in their fight against drug trafficking, noting that “The security strategy of the Central American Integration System (SICA) has funds for eight prioritized projects.” She also emphasized the need for community cooperation in the effort to create safe space for families and individuals. She said that the drug violence plaguing Central America should be considered the responsibility of other countries in the world. “The situation would be very different if we did not have to the north of us the majority of consumers and to the south of us the biggest producers.” The meeting was focused on combating both social and gender violence and the delegates approved “bi-national and transnational operations” to fight gangs, vehicle theft, human trafficking and border security.

President Daniel Ortega spoke at the final session of the meeting saying that coordination between the affected countries was “the only way to defeat this scourge that is affecting the region.” He noted Nicaragua’s efforts to include citizen participation in crime prevention and added, “You have to eradicate poverty; you have to bring more culture, education, health care, sports, to the communities in order to combat the influence of the drug traffickers.” We need investment from the countries that are the market for the drug traffickers, he said, because “we are the victims of this epidemic.”

Report of speakers tour

Wed, 29 Aug 2012 09:08:12 GMT

Nicaragua is no stranger to the horrors of neo-liberal ‘austerity’ economics. At the invitation of Unison International Department, two young Nicaraguan trade union activists visited England and Wales in June 2012 and inspired hundreds of people with their talks on actions taken in their country to counteract the global orthodoxy that is failing the majority so drastically and deepening poverty. Young people are at the forefront of revolutionary economic measures implemented since 2006 when Nicaraguans voted to end the succession of destructive right wing governments. The visitors, Arelis López Salinas and Emerson Silva Urbina, benefitted from the leadership skills training for young people financed by Unison and CWU. “In addition to our union organising work the training helps us communicate and raise awareness among young people”.

25 Years of Central American Integration - food security and drug trafficking

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 15:29:55 GMT

The Central American Integration System (SICA) summit, held in Managua on Aug. 7-8, commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Esquipulas II accord and focused on the issue of food security for the region and the fight against drug trafficking and organized crime. The Central American leaders, chaired by President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua who presides over SICA for this half year, agreed that the fight against crime and trafficking must be based on preventive measures to resolve social inequalities, while opening educational and employment opportunities especially for young people.

The leaders addressed food security in the face of global warming, drought in many parts of the world, economic crises, and the resulting rise in international food prices. Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes said that production of food must be increased and measures put in place to manage climate change and international commodity speculation. The leaders agreed to put in place regional mechanisms to confront these challenges. “The Central American people need for us to guarantee their access to food at affordable prices precisely to prevent hunger,” Funes said. The agreement on food security was praised by Gero Vaagt, UN Food and Agriculture Organization representative in Nicaragua, who said his organization was ready to support the Central American efforts.

Nicaragua advances in clean energy

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 15:31:36 GMT

Tumarin dam construction ready to go

The president of Hydroelectrics Central of Nicaragua (CHN), Marcelo Conde, confirmed in August that construction of the Tumarin hydroelectric project is ready to begin as soon as the rainy season ends. Conde said that negotiations for compensation of property owners whose properties will be flooded by the reservoir behind the giant dam on the Rio Grande de Matagalpa have been completed. The project is in the municipality of La Cruz de Rio Grande in the South Atlantic Autonomous Region. Financing for the US$1.1 billion mega-project is in place from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration and the National Bank of Economic and Social Development of Brazil. It is projected that the renewable energy project, which will add 253 megawatts of electricity generation capacity and lower consumer energy costs, will pay for itself over 27 years. The project will continue the Sandinista government’s commitment to switch from petroleum-generated electricity to renewable sources including water, wind, and thermal.

First man sentenced under new law to protect women against abuse

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 18:31:05 GMT

The Seventh District Criminal Court, specialising in violence against women, issued the first sentence under Act 779, a law passed in Nicaragua’s National Assembly to punish abusers of women. Julio Esteban Rosales, age 28, was sentenced to eight months in jail for psychological abuse against his ex-wife and an additional eight months for assault on his former sister-in-law. Act 779, the Comprehensive Act to Stop Violence against Women went into effect on June 22. Judge Abelardo Ramos Alvir is the first to use it for sentencing. The law passed unanimously in the National Assembly and was hailed as a major victory for Nicaraguan women.

Labour conditions improve in Free Trade Zones

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 17:50:07 GMT

Unions have helped to ensure that nearly 100,000 textile workers, overwhelmingly female, have benefitted from vastly improved working conditions in Nicaragua’s maquilas (foreign owned clothing factories in the Free Trade Zones). Trade unions are key players in tripartite talks which also bring together the employers and the Ministry of Labour. Here, negotiations take place regarding minimum wage, healthcare, meal subsidies and working conditions. When the first maquilas opened in 1991, there were just 9,000 workers. Since then the sector has exploded and last year exported over US$2bn of products. Before the current Sandinista government, working conditions in the factories were frequently described as inhumane, and those who tried to organise unions were often fired. Today most factories are unionised and there are more government inspectors, and greater labour stability.

More Nicaraguan doctors graduating from Cuban medical schools

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 15:35:34 GMT

Nicaraguan trade unionists visit UK as guests of UNISON

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 00:45:42 GMT

UNISON link with Nicaraguan Trade Union UNE

Solidarity mesage from UNE Nicaragua to UNISON UK

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 22:21:52 GMT

Young Trades Unionists from UNE the Public Service Union in Nicaragua wish all delegates to the UNISON conference in UK a message of solidarity.

Nicaragua and ALBA

Mon, 07 May 2012 12:37:36 GMT

Heres a video that demonstrates some of the gains of ALBA project. It's making a difference to thousands of people's lives.

Clean and renewable energy

Sat, 05 May 2012 13:09:03 GMT

A study by the Inter-American Development Bank’s Multilateral Investments Fund shows Nicaragua ranking second out of 26 Latin American and Caribbean countries in clean energy generation, behind only Brazil. The renewable energy projects being developed in Nicaragua today include aeolian (wind), geothermic (volcanoes), mini-hydraulic (water) and biomass (based on sugar cane residues). All these projects are based on private investment. Emilio Rappaccioli, Nicaragua’s minister of energy and mines, says the electricity generated by these projects next year will represent 51% of national generation and save Nicaragua US$300 million in the billing of 3 million barrels of fuel that curently feed the country’s thermal plants. Even the Ortega government’s harshest critics recognize its opening to such investments as a major achievement that’s modifying the country’s energy grid, up to now 65% dependent on oil.

Illiteracy rates in Nicaragua

Sat, 05 May 2012 13:07:51 GMT

Nicaragua still has 30.3% illiteracy, the highest rate in Central America after Guatemala, according to 2012 information from the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). In 2009, after a municipal-level literacy campaign using Cuba’s “Yes, I can” method, President Ortega declared Nicaragua “free of illiteracy,” stating that it had dropped to barely 3.6%, a figure several NGOs working on literacy programs questioned at the time, while admitting that they might be using more rigorous definitions of literacy. In response to these worrying figures, the government announced it will conduct a census to determine the real figures.

Nicaragua bids to stem deforestation with eco-soldiers

Sat, 05 May 2012 12:50:41 GMT

Deep inside the verdant and sweltering vegetation of Nicaragua's Mosquito Coast, a specially trained army unit is waging a new kind of war against a new type of enemy.

RIP Tomas Borge

Sat, 05 May 2012 12:46:03 GMT

My Personal Revenge

30 November pension strikes Message of solidarity from Domingo Perez General Secretary of UNE

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 09:50:08 GMT

Comradely greetings from the Public Sector Union UNE and myself, as Secretary General.

Another way is possible fair trade cooperation and solidarity with ALBA in Nicaragua

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:02:23 GMT

While the Euro zone plunges into meltdown and the governor of the Bank of England predicts the worst crisis in the UK since the depression, innovative new ideas based on relationships of solidarity between countries are being successfully put into practice in the countries of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of our America (ALBA).