Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

Plantations Convention, 1958 (No. 110) - Cuba (Ratification: 1958)

Part II of the Convention (Engagement and recruitment and migrant workers), Articles 5–19. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the labour legislation does not include the notion of “recruitment”, as defined in Article 5 of the Convention. It notes that the Labour Code applies to all workers, including those employed in plantations, that workers are recruited directly by undertakings and that the recruitment of foreign workers to work on plantations is prohibited. The Committee also notes the Government’s statement that there are no foreign workers or “imported” labour on plantations within the meaning of the Convention.

Part IV (Wages), Articles 24–35. The Committee notes the adoption of Resolution No. 9/2008 of 2 February 2008 issuing the regulations on the forms and systems of payment. It also notes the Government’s indication that the agricultural sector is currently being restructured taking into account the economic, climatic and other factors which affect the production of foodstuffs for the population, self-sufficiency and the replacement of imports, and that the wages of workers will in no way be affected by the adoption of the above Resolution. Finally, the Committee notes that the Government is currently examining the application and adequacy of the systems of payment in accordance with the transitional and final provisions of Resolution No. 9/2008. The Committee therefore requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any developments following the restructuring of the agricultural sector, particularly those relating to the wages of plantation workers. Furthermore, given that the Government has not provided any information on the number of plantation workers who are paid the legal minimum wage, as well as the collective agreements concluded in this sector of activity, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information in this regard.

Part V (Annual holidays with pay), Articles 36–42. The Committee notes that the Government provides no new information on this matter and repeats the information previously provided by indicating that, in practice, section 98 of the Labour Code, which provides for the replacement of holidays by supplementary remuneration under certain conditions, is no longer applied. It also notes the indication that the Labour Code is still in the process of being revised. In this regard, the Committee points out that this process has been under way for many years and that no concrete results have been achieved to date. The Committee once again recalls that, although this section is not applied in practice, it will remain in force until the new Labour Code has been adopted. It hopes that the Government will soon be in a position to report progress made in the adoption of the new Labour Code and that due consideration will be given to the comments that it has been making for several years.

Part VII (Maternity protection), Articles 46–50. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes with satisfaction that section 20 of Legislative Decree No. 234 of 2003 on maternity now guarantees the right of women workers nursing their child to interrupt their work during one or more periods counted as working hours and remunerated accordingly, in accordance with Article 49 of the Convention. In addition, the Committee requests the Government to refer to its comments made under the Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No. 183).

Parts IX and X (Right to organise and collective bargaining. Freedom of association), Articles 54–70. The Committee requests the Government to refer to its comments made under the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), and to supply relevant information on trade unions and collective bargaining in the plantation sector.

Part XI (Labour inspection), Articles 71–84. The Committee notes, as emphasized in a direct request of 2008 under the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), that sections 11 and 12 of Resolution No. 20/2007 issuing the regulations governing the national labour inspection system maintain the requirement of the existence of a written inspection order specifying the purpose of any inspection and the communication of this document to the employer. The Committee recalls that these conditions are contrary to Article 78(1)(a) and (2) of the Convention which provides that inspectors shall be empowered to enter freely any workplace liable to inspection and that they should be able to refrain from notifying the employer or his representative of their presence on the occasion of an inspection. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged in order to bring its legislation into conformity with the Convention on this point.

Part V of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee notes the statistics provided by the Government concerning the number of inspections carried out and the number of plantation workers. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue providing general information on the application of the Convention in practice, including, in particular, statistics on the number of establishments covered by the Convention and any official study available on the socio-economic situation of plantation workers.