A new multiple access (MA) strategy, referred to as non orthogonal multiple access - Relevant (NOMA-R), allows selecting NOMA when this increases all individual rates, i.e., it is beneficial for both strong(er) and weak(er) individual users. This letter provides a performance analysis of the NOMA-R strategy in uplink networks with statistical delay constraints. Closed-form expressions of the effective capacity (EC) are provided in two-users networks, showing that the strong user always achieves a higher EC with NOMA-R. Regarding the network's sum EC, there are distinctive gains with NOMA-R, particularly under stringent delay constraints.