Interim Report - Report No 300, November 1995

Case No 1805 (Cuba) - Complaint date: 20-OCT-94 - Closed

Allegations: Refusal to grant legal personality to a trade union organization; injuries, detentions, threats, refusal to grant permission to leave the country to attend international trade union meetings and other acts against officials of independent trade union organizations

1. 399. The complaint is contained in a communication of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) dated 20 October 1994. This organization sent additional information in a communication dated 20 July 1995.
2. 400. At its meeting of June 1995, noting that it had not received any reply to the allegations from the Government, the Committee made an urgent appeal and indicated that in accordance with procedure it would examine the case at its next meeting even if the Government's reply had not been received (see 299th Report of the Committee, para. 8).
3. 401. The Government replied to the allegations contained in the first communication from the ICFTU in a communication dated 13 July 1995.
4. 402. Cuba has ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and the Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. The complainant's allegations

1. 403. In its communication of 20 October 1994, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) alleges that Mr. Rafael Gutierrez, one of the leaders of the Union of Workers of Cuba (USTC), was twice refused permission to leave Cuba to attend meetings of the ICFTU Committee on Human and Trade Union Rights, held in November 1993 and June 1994. The Government alleged that Mr. Gutierrez was still subject to a sentence resulting from his opposition to the Government; the real reason for the refusal was that for the last two years he had been trying to secure official recognition of the USTC, and had been imprisoned for that reason, but released following pressure brought to bear by the international trade union movement. The non-recognition of the USTC was examined by the Committee in its 287th Report (Case No. 1628), paras. 280-282). In protest against the Government's refusal to let him leave Cuba, Mr. Gutierrez went on a hunger strike on 22 June, which he ended on 1 July, due to the solidarity expressed by the international trade union movement.
2. 404. The ICFTU adds that according to the Confederation of Democratic Workers of Cuba (CTDC), Mrs. Edith Lupe, organization secretary of the Trade Union Front of the CTDC, was summoned to appear on 24 May 1994 at the Department of State Security, located in Reparto Capri, in the Havana municipality of Arroyo Naranjo, by the commander of this body. Inside the aforementioned premises, the official threatened her with offensive and gross language. He told her he "was going to make her disappear or imprison her for three years" if she did not relinquish her organizational activities in the CTDC ranks. After this verbal aggression, a body search was carried out and Mrs. Lupe was stripped and subjected to a thorough examination. She was then threatened once again and placed in a cell which the Cuban agents use to carry out further acts of intimidation. Before she left the cell, officer Cortina delivered a stern warning to the effect that her home might be attacked by "mobs" throwing stones and that she might be attacked and beaten by "neighbours from the district".
3. 405. The ICFTU also alleges during the week of 4-9 July 1994 that CTDC officials were the victims of a violent demonstration by the so-called "Rapid Response Brigades" outside the residence of Mrs. Edith Lupe, organization secretary of the Trade Union Front of the CTDC. The dissidents Juan José López Diaz and Welmen Lazaro Noa were also at her residence at the time. Officials of the Ministry of the Interior and members of the Communist Party of Cuba participated in this demonstration.
4. 406. Furthermore, on 2 August 1994, in the Avenida 19 del Rpto. Siboney, in the municipality of Playa, Havana, Mr. Lazaro Corp Yeras, general secretary of the Union of Cuban Workers (USTC) and his younger son, Ray Corp Morales, were severely beaten up with sticks by three men. Both suffered serious injuries. The ICFTU states that it has reason to believe that the aggressors had links with the Cuban security forces. This assault, the fifth in less than three months against Mr. Lazaro Corp, once again shows the flagrant violation by the Government of Cuba of internationally recognized trade union rights and principles.
5. 407. After condemning the terrible harassment to which independent trade unionists in Cuba are subject, and which has often been denounced by the ICFTU, this organization emphasizes the total lack of freedom of association in Cuba.
6. 408. In its communication of 7 July 1995, the ICFTU alleges that the Department of State Security is severely harassing members of the National Executive Committee and the Trade Union Fronts which make up the Confederation of Democratic Workers of Cuba (CTDC). This is especially the case of Juan Guarino Martinez Guillen (president), Jesus Cárdenas López (vice-president) and Rene José Montero Garay (secretary responsible for international relations). This organization has also submitted the necessary documentation in order to obtain its legal personality but to date it does not seem to have the slightest chance of obtaining its registration.
7. 409. The ICFTU states that on 29 September 1994, at 1 p.m., Mr. Rene José Montero Garay was ordered to appear at the Unit of the National Revolutionary Police (PNR) in calle Dragones esquine Lealtad, in the centre of Havana. He was questioned by several officials of this repressive body, who threatened him and warned him that both he himself and Martinez Guillen and Jesus Cárdenas would be sentenced to 12-15 years' imprisonment if they pursued their militant activities in the CTDC and if they continued their defence of the Cuban working class. Moreover, on 10 November 1994, at 2.40 p.m., Messrs. Juan Guarino Martinez Guillen, President of the CTDC, and Jesus Cárdenas López, vice-president of the same organization, were arrested by the Department of State Security. They were taken to the nearest police station, where they were subjected to brutal and offensive interrogation.
8. 410. The ICFTU also states that, according to its sources, Mr. Eduardo Lamas Campos, a member of the Trade Union Front of the "Julio Antonio Mella" central organization, in Santiago de Cuba, Oriente, was expelled from his workplace simply because he had called for improvements in working conditions and food, since the food available was both small in quantity and of very poor quality.

B. The Government's reply

1. 411. In its communication of 13 July 1995, the Government explains that the delay in sending its reply was due mainly to the difficulties of locating information concerning the persons mentioned in the communication from the ICFTU, since none of these persons has trade union status, the events in question are not of a trade union nature, the persons concerned do not represent any group of workers, nor do they themselves have any employment relationship with any enterprise or labour body in Cuba, all of which places the Committee on Freedom of Association in a situation of having to deal with events which have no relationship with the laudable task which it carries out of defending trade union freedoms.
2. 412. That being said, the Government adds that the inquiries carried out on the basis of the scant information contained in the complaint have shown that Mr. Rafael Gutierrez could not complete his plans to travel to a foreign country since at that time he was on bail pending legal proceedings against him in the criminal courts. Mr. Rafael Gutierrez subsequently left the country on the dates given by the ICFTU in its communication.
3. 413. The Government adds that the ICFTU complaint mentions the name of Edith Lupe. This name, as well as the description of the events, are incorrect. On the basis of some of the elements contained in the communication, it was possible to determine the real identity of the person, and to ascertain what really happened. The matter concerns Enid Amelia Luque Rosales, and not Edith Lupe, as stated by the ICFTU. On 24 May, she was summoned to the ninth station of the National Revolutionary Police, located in Reparto Capri, and was given a warning for having carried out provocative activities against public order, in accordance with the applicable legislation. She was summoned and received in one of the offices of the above-mentioned police station, not in the Department of State Security, as erroneously stated by the ICFTU. She remained in this office for a short period of time, and was not placed in any cell or subjected to any body search. The Government adds that, according to statements made by Enid Amelia Luque Rosales, the intention of the provocative acts which were carried out in the company of four delinquents was to obtain favours and guarantees from the Section of United States Interests in Havana, with a view to obtaining a visa for permanent residence in the United States. The Government states that it is incorrect that Juan José López Diaz and Wilmer Lazaro Mora Beltran were the victims of a violent demonstration or that they were at the residence of the said Enid Amelia Luque when a group of neighbours from the district reacted against the provocations of the above-mentioned citizen. It was not members of the Ministry of the Interior, but neighbours from the district, who participated in this demonstration. Enid Amelia Luque Rosales left the country in August 1994.
4. 414. As regards Lazaro Corp Yeras, the Government states that it is totally erroneous to say that he was assaulted by members of the Ministry of the Interior. If this person, as he says, was the victim of any act of violence by unknown persons, he could have made a denunciation to the police, which he did not do. Lazaro Corp Yeras left the country in September 1994, when he went to live in the United States.
5. 415. The Government points out that the Committee on Freedom of Association should be cautious about statements from persons of doubtful credibility such as those concerning the persons mentioned in the complaint, which do not give the true identity of the persons, or the address of their residence, the name and address of the workplace where they are supposedly leaders of workers' collectives, and who have not even established their status as workers at the time in question.
6. 416. The Government states that there are 18 national sectorial trade unions in Cuba, whose members include around 98 per cent of the workers in the country. Freedom of association is exercised in all workplaces by workers' collectives and their trade union representatives are nominated and elected by the workers themselves. Under the Cuban labour relations system, the different bodies of the trade union organizations participate systematically, through a wide variety of fora, in the decision-making process on matters of interest to workers. According to the Government, the ICFTU has been misinformed; the facts have been distorted by unscrupulous persons who claim to be trade unionists, when in fact their activities have nothing to do with trade union matters, and their only purpose is to obtain personal benefit through recourse to international procedures and propaganda.
7. 417. In the light of all these matters, the Government requests the Committee on Freedom of Association to conclude that this case should be definitively closed.

C. The Committee's conclusions

1. 418. The Committee observes that in this case the complainant organization alleges the total lack of freedom of association in Cuba and refers to different acts committed against trade unionists or officials of independent trade union organizations: injuries, detentions, serious threats, acts of intimidation and harassment, refusals to grant permission to leave Cuba to attend trade union meetings and the refusal to grant legal personality to the CTDC and an anti-union dismissal.
2. 419. The Committee notes the statements by the Government and in particular, that 98 per cent of workers in the country are members of 18 national sectorial trade unions, whose representatives are appointed and elected by the workers themselves, and that through their different bodies, trade union organizations participate systematically in the decision-making process. Moreover, the Committee observes that the Government states as regards the allegations contained in the first communication from the complainant organization that the persons to whom it refers do not have the status of trade unionists, do not represent any workers' collective and do not have any employment relationship with any enterprise or any occupational activity in the country, and that their activities are not related to trade union matters - their objective is allegedly to obtain personal benefit - and that the events in question are not of a trade union nature.
3. 420. In accordance with its usual practice, the Committee will carry out an examination of the different allegations on the basis of specific observations made by the Government; however, it would like to emphasize that in the light of all the information at its disposal it must determine whether or not there have been infringements of freedom of association, with account being taken of the provisions of the ILO Conventions on freedom of association ratified by Cuba. The Committee must therefore take into account the fact that there exists only one officially recognized central trade union organization mentioned in the legislation and that on previous occasions, complaints have been made concerning the refusal to grant official recognition to trade union organizations outside the existing officially recognized trade union structure. In the same way, in its last report (1995), the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations requested the Government "to guarantee in law and in practice the right of all workers and employers, without distinction whatsoever, to establish independent trade union organizations of their own choosing, outside any existing trade union structure if they so desire (Article 2 of the Convention), and the right to elect their representatives in full freedom" (see Report III (Part 4A), ILC, 82nd Session, 1995, p. 163).
4. 421. As regards the alleged refusal to grant permission to leave Cuba (November 1993 and June 1994) to Mr. Rafael Gutierrez, a trade unionist of the Union of Workers of Cuba, thus preventing him from attending meetings organized by the ICFTU, the Committee notes that, according to the Government, Mr. Gutierrez was on bail at the time, pending judicial proceedings against him in the criminal courts, so that he could not complete his plans for travelling to a foreign country, and that he subsequently left the country on the dates mentioned by the ICFTU. In this respect, observing that the Government has not indicated the specific allegations made against Mr. Gutierrez in the criminal proceedings and bearing in mind that the Government has not denied the statement by the complainant organization that this person was imprisoned for trying to obtain official recognition of the Union of Workers of Cuba, the Committee concludes that the authorities refused Mr. Gutierrez permission to leave the country to attend ICFTU meetings because of proceedings related to the carrying out of legitimate trade union activities. The Committee therefore deplores that Mr. Gutierrez was not permitted to attend two meetings organized by the ICFTU and requests the Government in future to guarantee respect of the principle whereby "since participation by unionists in international trade union meetings is a fundamental trade union right, governments should abstain from any measure ... that would prevent representatives of workers' organizations from exercising their mandate in full freedom and independence". (See 254th Report, Case No. 1406 (Zambia), para. 470; 283rd Report, Case No. 1590 (Lesotho), para. 346.)
5. 422. As regards the alleged serious injuries caused by three men (concerning whom the complainant organization states that it has reason to believe had links with the Cuban security forces) against the persons of Mr. Lazaro Corp Yeras, general secretary of the Union of Workers of Cuba, and his younger son in August 1994, the Committee notes that the Government states that it is totally false that Mr. Lazaro Corp was assaulted by members of the Ministry of the Interior, that he made no complaint and that he left the country in September 1994. The Committee wishes to emphasize that the complainant organization did not say that the injuries to Mr. Corp and his young son were caused by "members of the Ministry of the Interior", but by persons who had links "with the Cuban security forces"; moreover, the complainant organization pointed out that this was the fifth act of aggression against Mr. Corp in less than three months. In this respect, the Committee believes that the terms in which the Government's reply is worded do not exclude the possibility that Mr. Lazaro Corp and his younger son were assaulted and injured because of the trade union status or activities of the former. The Committee therefore requests the Government in future to ensure that no trade union official or trade unionist should be assaulted because of his or her trade union status or activities, and of course neither should his or her family members. The Committee requests the Government to set up a judicial inquiry into the serious injuries inflicted on the trade union official Mr. Lazaro Corp and his younger son despite the fact that they no longer live in Cuba, and to keep it informed in this respect.
6. 423. Furthermore, the Committee notes the allegations concerning Mrs. Edith Lupe, organization secretary of the Trade Union Front of the Confederation of Democratic Workers: threats to make her disappear or to imprison her made by a commander in May 1994 when she was summoned to appear at the Department of State Security; body search and stripping; placing in an intimidation cell; new threats of attack and beating by "mobs" and "neighbours"; a demonstration by the "Rapid Response Brigades" outside the home of Edith Lupe, where dissidents Juan José López and Welmen Lazaro Noa were also present; and participation by officials of the Ministry of the Interior and members of the Communist Party of Cuba in the demonstration.
7. 424. In this respect the Committee notes that the Government states: (1) that the name of the person in question was not Edith Lupe but Enid Amelia Luque; (2) that she was summoned by the national police and given a warning because of her provocative activities which were contrary to public order, in accordance with the legislation; (3) that she remained for only a short time at the police station, that she was not put into any cell and that no body check was carried out; (4) that according to statements made by Enid Amelia Luque Rosales, the purpose of the provocative acts carried out in the company of four delinquents was to obtain favours and guarantees from the Section of United States Interests in Havana, with a view to obtaining a visa for permanent residence in that country; (5) that as a result of the acts of provocation of Enid Amelia Luque a group of neighbours from the district demonstrated against her conduct, without the participation of members of the Ministry of the Interior; (6) that citizens Juan José López Diaz and Wilmer Lazaro Mora Beltran were not at the home of Enid Amelia Luque at the time nor were they the victims of any demonstration; (7) that Enid Amelia Luque left the country in August 1994.
8. 425. The Committee notes that the allegations made and the statements of the Government are conflicting and contradictory on most points. However, the Committee would like to emphasize that the Government has not explained the substance of these "acts of provocation against public order" by Enid Amelia Luque and the "four delinquents", and which resulted in a "warning" being delivered in the offices of the national police, or of the "demonstration" against her conduct by neighbours from the district, or the content of the "warning" by the national police. In these circumstances, the Committee requests the Government to clarify all these matters so that it can examine the allegations in full knowledge of the facts.
9. 426. Finally, noting that the Government has not replied to the allegations made by the complainant organization in its communication of 20 July 1995, the Committee requests the Government to send its observations on:
   • - the refusal to grant legal personality to the Confederation of Democratic Workers of Cuba (CTDC);
   • - the detention, harassment of and threats against several leaders of the CTDC;
   • - the expulsion from his workplace of a trade unionist of the Trade Union Front of the "Julio Antonio Mella" central organization who had called for better working conditions.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 427. In the light of its foregoing interim conclusions, the Committee invites the Governing Body to approve the following recommendations:
   • (a) Deploring that the trade unionist Rafael Gutierrez was not permitted to participate in two meetings organized by the ICFTU, the Committee requests the Government in future to ensure respect of the principle whereby participation as a trade unionist in international trade union meetings is a basic trade union right, and that governments should abstain from any measure which would prevent representatives of a workers' organization from exercising their mandate in full freedom and independence.
   • (b) The Committee requests the Government to open a judicial inquiry into the serious injuries allegedly inflicted on the trade union official Lazaro Corp and his younger son, and to keep it informed in this respect.
   • (c) As regards the allegations concerning the arrest of and threats and other acts of harassment against Enid Amelia Luque, organization secretary of the Trade Union Front of the Confederation of Democratic Workers of Cuba, the Committee requests the Government to provide the more detailed information to which reference is made in the conclusions, so that it can examine the allegations in full knowledge of all the facts.
   • (d) Finally, noting that the Government has not replied to the allegations made by the complainant organization in its communication of 20 July 1995, the Committee requests the Government to furnish its observations on:
     • - the refusal to grant legal personality to the Confederation of Democratic Workers of Cuba (CDTC);
     • - the arrest and harassment of and threats against several officials of the CTDC;
     • - the expulsion from his work centre of a trade unionist of the Trade Union Front of the "Julio Antonio Mella" central organization after he had called for better working conditions.