Taiwan Financing Nicaraguan Troops in Iraq

[InkAddict]

http://www.americas.org/Nicaragua/

The mysterious donor nation, whose assistance funded 115 Nicaraguan troops to leave Nicaragua for Iraq and whose name President Bolaños had refused to reveal, turned out to be Taiwan. Taiwan has been notable for its lavish donations in the past, some of which enabled Arnoldo Alemán to build the vast presidential palace in what was formerly the Plaza of the Revolution. It has been courting Nicaragua looking for its vote in support of Taiwan's entry into the United Nations.



The Polish-led international force of which Nicaragua is a part was delayed in its deployment by the huge bomb which destroyed the mosque at Nayaf and killed Ayatoláh Mohamed Baqir, but Nicaraguans are very concerned about the safety of their soldiers, and the FSLN is considering a court challenge of the deployment as unconstitutional. Comptroller Poessy insisted, "Any monies that come into Nicaragua in the form of donations from abroad belong to, are the property of, the Nicaraguan people, not the government. In this case, where my office is investigating whether our Nicaraguan soldiers were sent overseas with life insurance policies that violate the Law of State Contracts, we need to be fully informed by government. No donation, even small ones, can remain hidden for very long. For President Bolaños to claim that what is donated does not have to be accounted for is absurd. I expect that Defense Minister José Adán Guerra will send us the relevant information during this coming week."

Tell me about this source anyone?

Also see one person's viewpoint on the present conditions in this Central American nation. Although unemployment is high, check out some of the ways employers must treat workers.

http://www.counterpunch.org/harper08222003.html



Something that has not changed since the 1980's is employee rights under the labor code, which are incredibly strong. I have heard many employers and NGOs commenting (complaining!) in recent years on the strong position of the employee in any job termination or benefits dispute situation.

It is true that labor unions as unions do not fare well in Nicaragua or in any Central American country, but remember that under the Sandinistas, only the official Sandinista unions were allowed to organize! There never was strong labor union legislation in Nicaragua like the NLRB in the United States. However, individual workers frequently sue their employers or ex-employers with the assistance of free government attorneys from the labor department, and if the employer has not followed all the requirements of the labor law, the worker wins and gets penalties against the employer.

Employers must cover all employees under the Social Security system (INSS) which includes health care and temporary disability pay as well as old age pensions. Employers must also pay the 13th month's pay in December as a bonus to every worker, as well as providing 30 vacation days a year or their equivalent in extra pay. At termination, no matter what the reason for termination, the employer must pay the worker an "indemnity" or severance pay of so many months' salary depending on years of employment. This is not an empty law. It is enforced constantly.

The employer/employee funded INSS system provides both work-related and non work related illness and injury coverage. It is quite good health care too: one of our employees was seriously injured last year and benefited greatly from his INSS health coverage (five surgeries, many X rays and tests, medications, months of physical therapy, all in private hospitals and clinics, all paid for by INSS.) It is also still a strong custom in Nicaragua that when an employee is on "subsidio" (disability pay from INSS, 50% of his/her salary), the employer pays the other half so that the employee continues to receive 100% of his/her salary while disabled or ill. This benefit is better than in the U.S.!!

Of course many people are not working in the formal economy and are not covered by this system and do not receive these benefits. But many poor people continue to receive healthcare, even now. The wonderful Bertha Calderon Hospital for women, a recipient of tremendous solidarity attention during the 1980's, is still providing healthcare for poor women today.

A friend of mine who works as a maid and house cleaner, who lives in a dirt floor house in a very poor barrio of Managua, is receiving extensive treatment for uterine cancer, including doctor's visits, radiation, and personal counseling for her depression and anxiety, all at the Bertha Calderon, all at no cost to her. Our support to the Bertha Calderon in the 80's was not in vain. Far from it!

As for employment and unemployment, I think the percentage of people in the "informal sector" is about the same now as in the 1980's. In those years there were many more government jobs than there are now, (and alas, many more "jobs" in the army). There were also many fewer private sector jobs in the 80's and there are huge numbers of such private sector jobs now. Different people had jobs then: "our side" had the jobs.

The private sector in Nicaragua is vigorous now, and has created thousands of jobs that did not exist when I lived in Nicaragua. Both in the 1980's and now, about 70 % of the population can be described as working in "the informal sector". You know what that means: selling watches or oranges at traffic lights, making tortillas for sale in the neighborhood, washing and ironing other people's clothes, cobbling together a living here and there. These people can also be described as "underemployed". They are considered "unemployed" or "working in the informal sector" in the official statistics. But the percentages are about the same from decade to decade: about 30% of the population has "straight jobs" and about 70% are in the "informal sector".



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