Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1992, published 79th ILC session (1992)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Cuba (Ratification: 1965)

1. The Committee refers to its observation of 1991 in which it asked the Government, in particular, to forward its comments on the questions raised by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) in its letter dated 31 January 1991, which were transmitted to the Government by a letter from the ILO dated 19 February 1991.

In this connection the Committee has taken note of a letter addressed to its members by the Government, supplying information on the domestic and international situation of Cuba. The Government states in particular that economic and political pressure are being brought to bear on its country, which is the object of a campaign of propaganda and disinformation designed to discredit and isolate it, and that it considers that the observations communicated by ICFTU fall within the context of that action. The Government expresses its support and respect for the work of the ILO on behalf of the workers of the world, describes the degree of application of the 86 international labour Conventions ratified by Cuba and mentions the importance it attaches to social development. At the same time it asks the members of the Committee and the Committee as a whole to make an assessment of the replies in the context of the exceptional situation through which the country is passing.

The Committee has taken note of this communication. For its part, it wishes to point out that, in its consistent task of determining whether the provisions of a given Convention are being complied with, it is guided only by the standards laid down in the Convention concerned. It is a matter of international standards, and the evaluation of their application must be uniform and not be affected by ideas derived from any particular social or economic system.

The Committee has also noted that the Government has not supplied specific comments on the questions raised by ICFTU, which relate to discriminatory practices based on the ideological attitude of the persons concerned.

According to ICFTU, these practices take, in particular, the following forms:

- the "expediente acumulativo escolar", or school record, which accompanies the student for the entire duration of his studies and forms part of the cumulative labour record (expediente acumulativo laboral) when the student seeks employment. The student's record contains in particular information about his or her moral, political and ideological education, which are the subject of an annual evaluation, and on his or her parents' participation in religion;

- the cumulative labour record, which contains information on the worker's political integration and attitude to the revolution (see paragraph 8 below);

- the personal verification form, which is kept by the neighbourhood Committee for the Defence of the Revolution (CDR) on every worker and which contains in particular information about the worker's social conduct and possible relations with persons "unsympathetic to the revolution"; this document is no longer incorporated in the cumulative labour record, but is accessible to the authorities. ICFTU supplies photocopied extracts from these documents.

The ICFTU also supplies, with supporting documents and testimony, examples of discriminatory practices in employment and occupation, based on ideological attitude and relating to such matters as promotion, work abroad, access to housing and consumer goods, sexual harassment at workplaces, "repudiation" of applicants for emigration and a list of persons who have suffered through these practices. The Committee hopes that the Government will supply its comments on the questions raised by ICFTU so that they may be examined at its next session.

2. The Committee also takes note of the observations communicated by the Latin American Central Organisation of Workers (CLAT) in its letter dated 19 February 1992, transmitted to the Government by letter from the ILO. The Committee hopes that the Government will send its comments on the questions raised by CLAT so that they may be examined at its next session.

The Committee also takes note of the information supplied by the Government to the Conference Committee in 1991 in reply to other questions raised in its previous observation.

Access to training

3. With reference to the criteria for the approval of applicants for admission to post-secondary or higher studies (Ministry of Education resolutions No.1/89 of 18 March 1989, paragraph 2, and No. 260/88 of 16 May 1988, paragraph 5), the Government has indicated that such approval is granted through a democratic procedure in which the teacher and the students' collective meeting as a student assembly participate. The teacher supplies information on the results of the tests and examinations to determine the student's knowledge. The students' collective at the same level and group as the applicant analyses the student's qualities and personality, his devotion to study, discipline, dedication to research, participation in teamwork, his human relations, etc. Thus the educational process is based on the pupil's qualities and prepares him harmoniously for life in his environment. The students' collective also participates in the evaluation of the results of operation of the school.

The Committee takes note of this information. Although it appreciates the objectives of the participation of the students' collective, the Committee finds that approval is granted through a personal examination of the applicant centred not only on his intellectual and studious qualities but also on his social behaviour. In these circumstances, and also in view of the questions raised above concerning the student's record, the Committee hopes that the Government will take the appropriate measures to ensure that, in the individual examination which every applicant must undergo, no elements such as religion, political opinion or social origin, which might give rise to discrimination within the meaning of the Convention, are taken into account. 4. With reference to admittance to "directed courses" (Ministry of Higher Education resolution No. 250/81 of 31 July 1981, as amended by resolution No. 66/85 of 26 March 1985), the Government indicates that the approval of the administration and trade union section as to the "moral" requirements to be met by the applicant is nothing more than a conventional administrative formality and means that, in the case of courses for the workers, the candidate's application must be signed by the representatives of the trade union and of the administration.

The Committee has taken note of these explanations. The Committee hopes that, in this case too, no element regarded as discriminatory in the provisions of the Convention plays any part in admittance to the "directed courses" which, according to the above-mentioned texts, may also be accessible to citizens not bound by an employment relationship, which in this case must obtain the approval of the appropriate mass agencies.

Access to employment

5. The Government has indicated that the list of posts under the State, according to Legislative Decree No. 82 of 1984 on the work system of state officials and Decree No. 125 of 1984 on the regulations pursuant thereto, does not coincide with the lists of posts to be supervised by the Communist Party of Cuba under the resolution of the First Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba, 1975. Furthermore, the Government has stated that, even in the managerial posts shown in the list drawn up in accordance with the 1984 texts, the indicators governing selection and promotion do not include either membership of a political party or political opinion, but only the requisites for the managerial activities which the persons concerned have to carry on. With regard to the "spirit of collectivism" required of education staff, the Government has indicated that this is a means designed to ensure the democratic participation of students' collectives and organisations in politics and in the development of education in the country.

The Committee has taken note of these indications. The Committee recalls that the list of posts that depend on the system governed by the above-mentioned 1984 texts also include posts in the administration and posts in undertakings and extends to heads of factories, workshops, brigades and teams. The Committee also recalls that the requirements for the occupation of directorial posts in education include the "spirit of collectivism" and "attachment to the masses and confidence in them". The Committee again emphasises that political opinion may only be taken into account when it is a required qualification for particular posts and functions, in accordance with Article 1, paragraph 2, of the Convention, that is to say for certain senior posts directly connected with the practical implementation of government policy. Consequently, the Committee is returning to the consideration of some aspects connected with political opinion which have been raised in previous comments on access to employment and the evaluation of workers.

6. The Government has stated that resolution No. 590/86 is without effect and does not constitute an element of discrimination in the inspection system of the Ministry of Education, which is being revised and will have been transformed before the end of the 1991 school year. The Government specifies that it is not a matter of political opinions but of education policy which is formulated and controlled by the Ministry of Education. The Committee points out that, according to resolution No. 590/86, the process of teaching and the results obtained should be analysed from the standpoint of the policy of the Communist Party of Cuba (section 2) and evaluated taking into account their political, ideological and scientific content (section 8). The Committee again emphasises that these criteria may give rise to discrimination based on political opinion: (i) in the training of pupils and students; (ii) in the evaluation of the work of teachers subjected to inspection; and (iii) in the conditions of employment and evaluation of the work of those teachers. Consequently, the Committee hopes that, on the occasion of the revision of the education system, the Government has taken the necessary measures to ensure that the national laws and practice conform to the Convention.

7. The Committee takes note of the Government's statement that the provisions of Legislative Decree No. 34/1980, which were the subject of previous comments (authorisation to dismiss certain staff members in higher education establishments for conduct including activities contrary to socialist morality and the ideological principles of society) have no practical application today. The Committee hopes that, as the Government indicated, these provisions will be brought into harmony with the Convention when the above-mentioned legislation is revised. Furthermore, the Committee again asks the Government to supply the texts of joint resolution No. 2 of 20 December 1989 of the Ministries of Education and Higher Education, which deals with the rehabilitation of workers in education to whom Legislative Decree No. 34/1980 has been applied.

Evaluation of workers

8. The Committee refers to its 1991 observation. The Committee recalls that section 129 of the Regulations for the Application of Employment Policy (resolution No. 51/88 of 12 December 1988), like section 61 of the Labour Code, provides that the labour record is a document that contains data and particulars of the worker's working experience and that the employing agency is under an obligation to prepare, update and keep such a record for every member of its staff. The Committee points out again that, among the "working merits" to be mentioned in the labour record (section 130 of the above-mentioned Regulations) and which are defined in section 5 of resolution No. 590/1980, are included, in particular, the fact of being selected for an international mission and the maintenance of an activity consistent with the principle of proletarian internationalism during the performance of the mission. According to section 6 of the same resolution, distinctions which do not constitute a labour merit but which are conferred by such bodies as mass organisations or official institutions and which express the "revolutionary attitude maintained by the worker outside his work centre" may be included in the labour record. The Committee considers that these provisions are not in conformity with the provisions of the Convention concerning the elimination of any discrimination based on political opinion.

The Government has stated in this connection that the system of merits and demerits related to work and governed by resolution No. 590/1980 of the Committee on Labour and Social Security (CETSS) forms an integral part of the "socialist emulation" organised and controlled by the trade union organisations and is independent of the system of evaluation of the qualifications of workers for purposes of access to and retention in employment. The Government explains that two recent resolutions not yet supplied to the ILO deal with these questions; these are resolution No. 18 of 19 November 1990 and resolution No. 4 of 15 March 1991.

The Committee has taken note of this information. The Committee observes that resolution No. 590/1980 is a text of regulations promulgated by the Minister-Chairman of CETSS and that it determines the facts to be included in the labour record by "labour merit and demerit assemblies" and that it defines those merits and demerits in sections 5 and 6 respectively. The Committee therefore considers that these are criteria for the professional assessment of the worker fixed by the Government, as will be seen, in particular, from the criteria relating to the results of work and vocational qualifications defined in clauses (a) to (d), (e) and (h) of paragraph 5 of the resolution (for example, designation as the best worker of the year, contribution to the increase in productivity and the quality of services, approval of examinations for technical skill or instructor's skill).

In addition, the Committee takes note of the Government's statement that, on the basis of these merits, moral and material incentives are granted by the trade union organisations (such as national or international tours at low prices or free of charge or the opportunity to purchase goods which are scarce in the country). The Committee considers that these privileges and benefits in kind are elements of the conditions of employment. Consequently, the Committee considers that the fact that they are distributed according to work-related merits decided upon by the trade union organisations does not exempt from the obligation under the Convention to ensure that the criteria constituting those merits do not involve elements that may give rise to discrimination, in particular on the basis of political opinion (such as the fact of having been selected to perform an internationalist mission and of exhibiting an attitude consistent with the principle of proletarian internationalism). The Committee also considers that the inclusion in the work record of distinctions conferred for a "revolutionary attitude" outside the labour environment might constitute discrimination.

The Committee consequently hopes that the Government will take the necessary measures to bring the law into harmony with the Convention on these points.

9. The Committee is addressing a direct request to the Government on other points.