By: Ana Carolina Barquero
Associate – LatinAlliance Nicaragua
By Constitutional Mandate, the Republic of Nicaragua recognizes the Right of Workers to Working Conditions that ensure them in particular: “The physical integrity, health, hygiene and reduction of occupational hazards to make effective the occupational safety of the worker”, in such virtue was created the Law 618 General Law of Occupational Health and Safety, approved on April 19, 2007 and published in La Gaceta No. 133 of July 13, 2007.
Said law is of mandatory application to all natural or juridical persons, national and foreign, established or to be established in Nicaragua, in which industrial, agricultural, commercial, construction, public and private service or any other type of work is carried out. Without prejudice of the faculties and obligations that other Laws grant to other public institutions within their respective competencies.
By mandate of this Law, the National Council of Hygiene and Safety at Work is created, whose mission is to propose and approve policies in matters of prevention and promotion of hygiene and safety of workers, said Council is attached to the Ministry of Labor, formed by a representative of each Ministry and Governmental Directorate, as well as by the Minister of Labor; and is in charge of these responsibilities: a) To technically support and collaborate in the elaboration and approval of regulations and/or resolutions in matters of hygiene and safety. b) To develop activities of promotion, dissemination of prevention and training of occupational risks. c) To provide support and technical advice in the preparation and development of instructions and procedures for the prevention of occupational hazards. d) To collaborate with organizations for the development of assistance and cooperation programs in this field. e) To promote and develop programs for research and application of prevention methods. f) To approve the National Strategic Plan of the Council. g) To form working subcommittees to investigate cases of importance, to issue resolutions to be submitted to the Council for approval. h) To create its own internal operating regulations for the Council. i) To prepare its budget.
Likewise, Law 618, contemplates in its articles 61 to 72; the Technical Organizational Regulations, which the employers or their representatives are obliged to elaborate in matters of hygiene and safety at work in order to regulate the behavior of the workers as a complement to the measures of prevention and protection, establishing the procedures of the different preventive, general and specific safety activities to be adopted in the workplaces.
Once the Technical Organizational Regulation is prepared – based on the methodological instructions provided by the Ministry of Labor – it is submitted for approval to the General Directorate of Occupational Health and Safety, which will verify its content and, prior to its approval, will issue recommendations or will issue a favorable decision to proceed with the approval of the Regulation.
Once the Regulation is approved, it will produce full legal effects for its implementation and will be issued in two copies, one for the company and the other for the Ministry of Labor, who must keep it.
It is important to take into consideration that the approved Regulation must be made known to the workers thirty days prior to its entry into force and that the employers and the management team have the obligation to comply with it, even if the workers are not familiar with it, since non-compliance may result in sanctions.
The General Directorate of Occupational Health and Safety or the corresponding Departmental Inspector of Health and Safety will oversee the correct implementation of these regulations.
It is important that employers are aware of the obligation to establish their regulations, since the law grants them a term of no more than 3 months for their preparation and approval before the General Directorate of Occupational Health and Safety or the corresponding Departmental Inspectorate, which are valid for two years, and may be revised or updated when changes are made or new processes are introduced.