Nicaragua, Labor Unions Settle Strike : Accord Ends Violent Challenge to 11-Week Chamorro Regime

Negotiators for the government and striking unions agreed early today to end a strike that tore up city streets, brought commerce to a halt and left at least six people dead.

An accord was signed by negotiators for President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro and the Sandinista-led National Workers Front, ending the biggest challenge so far to Chamorro’s 11-week-old government.

The strike took hold July 2 and spread through most government ministries and many state businesses. Strike leaders said 90,000 took part.

The Sandinistas, who left office April 25 after a February defeat at the polls, remain the largest single political force in Nicaragua.

In its settlement, the government agreed to suspend a decree permitting the return of confiscated lands to previous owners. It also agreed to a 43% salary raise this month and another increase of undetermined size for August.

Under the pact, public-sector workers fired since Chamorro took office April 25 will be paid and there will be no retribution against the strikers.

The Sandinistas had opposed the layoffs ordered by the U.S.-backed government, which is trying to cut the budget deficit and nurse back to health an economy ravaged by a decade of war and U.S. trade sanctions.

There was also strong opposition in the country of 3.7 million people to government plans to sell many of the properties the Sandinistas had confiscated and nationalized after coming to power in a 1979 popular revolution.

The strike closed the international airport, cut electricity and water service, limited telephone and mail delivery, reduced gasoline supplies and shut down factories and businesses.

It was the second major strike during Chamorro’s administration, and was more violent than the first. At least six people were reported killed and 100 injured in fighting between strikers and government supporters since Friday.

A public-sector strike in May resulted in 100% raises and other important concessions. The raises helped offset high inflation in Nicaragua, where the average worker’s salary is about $100 a month.

The minimum salary is about $20 a month, and inflation was officially listed at 124.7% for the month of June.

The latest strike was initially called to protest the firings of government workers and demand a voice in economic policy.