Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 330, March 2003

Case No 1961 (Cuba) - Complaint date: 26-MAR-98 - Closed

Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body

1. 59. At its June 2002 meeting, the Committee made the following conclusions and recommendations on the issues that were still pending [see 328th Report, paras. 28-43]:
   • – the Committee is bound to note that the Government still refuses to recognize the CUTC, in spite of the fact that more than six years have elapsed since it requested official registration, and requests the Government to ensure that the CUTC can operate freely and that the authorities refrain from any interference such as restricting the organization’s fundamental rights;
   • – the Committee highlighted (after having noted that the Government had declared that none of the persons mentioned in the complaint were detained) that the Government had not referred specifically to the detention or arrest of Mr. Sixto Rolando Calero and his wife, Mr. Pedro Pablo Alvarez Ramos (several times), Ms. Gladys Linares Blanco and her husband, Mr. Humberto Mones Lafita, Mr. Carmelo Agustín Díaz Fernández and Mr. Pedro Pablo Hernández Mijares, all of whom, according to the WCL, were trade union members or leaders, detained in the circumstances described by the complainant (the organization of a trade union congress), or to that of the journalist, Mr. Víctor Rolando Arroyo;
   • – moreover, the Committee notes that the Government failed to reply explicitly to other specific acts allegedly committed by the authorities in order to prevent the national congress of the CUTC from taking place (harassment of CUTC members, threats of arrest, confiscation of documents, pressure to prevent the holding of a press conference, police intimidation through the deployment of state security agents around the site of the press conference);
   • – given the insufficient information provided by the Government, the Committee requests it to provide full information on all the issues raised in this case.
2. 60. In its communication of 24 December 2002, the Government reiterates its previous statements and indicates that, in relation to a request made by a so-called organization named the Single Council of Cuban Workers (CUTC) before the Ministry of Justice, the latter considered that the trial brief did not meet the requirements established by the Associations Act No. 54 of 1985, and shelved the request, with the explanation that this Act does not provide for the creation of trade unions; furthermore, trade unions do not require prior authorization. As regards the alleged arrests of four citizens who claim to be trade union officials, it was proven that the only one of them remaining in detention in October 2000 (and later released), at the disposal of the courts, was Mr. Pedro Pablo Alvarez, for criminal activities completely unrelated to trade union activities.
3. 61. The Government adds that the unity of the Cuban trade union movement is one of the greatest achievements of Cuban workers. Trade union activity is conducted on a daily basis in workplaces, and in all of its decision-making bodies, with the participation of representatives elected by the workers themselves, without interference, arrests, pressure, threats or intimidation, contrary to the WCL’s allegations.
4. 62. Recent investigations have proven, yet again, that no workplace in the country has any trade union organization corresponding to the name CUTC. It was only possible to access information distributed under this name through foreign broadcasts and Internet services.
5. 63. One of the representatives and promoters of the so-called CUTC abroad is Mr. René Laureano Díaz González (who is not mentioned in the complaint), who has been proven responsible for terrorist activities against the Cuban people, amongst others, a dynamite attack against the Tallapiedra Thermoelectric Power Station in the City of Havana. Mr. Laureano devised plans to introduce counterfeit money into Cuba and has been behind acts of sabotage against the Cuban electricity sector which were carried out by members recruited within the country.
6. 64. The persons mentioned in the complaint are not known amongst Cuban workers, and neither could they be, simply because they are not involved in any form of employment. These people have not been elected by any body of workers, and they do not represent anyone.
7. 65. The Government then provides the following information on the persons mentioned in the complaint:
   • – Mr. Pedro Pablo Alvarez Ramos. Unemployed since 2000. Calls himself the “general secretary” of the non-existent CUTC. This individual enjoys freedom of movement and action, despite the fraudulent nature of his public opinions and statements. He has close and periodic links with agents in Havana defending the interests of a foreign State.
   • – Ms. Gladys María Magdalena Linares Blanco. Sixty years of age (five years over the retirement age for women). Unemployed. Has close links with, and receives financing from, Mr. Enrique Blanco, who is a representative in Puerto Rico of the well-known terrorist organization, Independent and Democratic Cuba, for conducting counter-revolutionary activities. Ms. Gladys Linares Blanco, after blatantly and publicly stealing received money, had to be kept away from “trade union business”, following instructions given by agents in Havana defending the interests of a foreign State. The same occurred with Mr. Humberto Mones Lafita.
   • – Mr. Carmelo Agustín Díaz Fernández. Sixty-five years of age (five years over the statutory retirement age for men). He voluntarily terminated his employment in 2000 and calls himself a trade union press reporter. In reality, he carries out activities directed by agents in Havana defending the interests of a foreign State, which pays for the false information invented by this man.
   • – Mr. Víctor Rolando Arroyo Carmona. Unemployed since 2000, when he voluntarily left the Provincial Directorate of Physical Planning of Pinar del Río, where he worked as a designer. He has close links with the terrorist organization, the Cuban American National Foundation. He is described as a “thief” by his fellow counter-revolutionaries because on repeated occasions he has stolen money sent from abroad for his own personal use. In September 2001, he was accused of abusing minors after beating his wife’s son on two occasions, causing after-effects, and threatening another child who was present at the time. On 14 February 2002, the chief of agents in Havana defending the interests of a foreign State visited him at his home and rewarded his criminal activities with additional funding and 40 radio receivers with their respective chargers, four batteries, a ground antenna and earphones. Naturally, she also informed him of new activities for consolidating the “virtual trade unionism” that this foreign State is trying to create.
   • – Mr. Sixto Rolando Calero Ramos. Unemployed for health reasons since 1997, when he presented a medical certificate. He was paid his salary in full for the next two years. In 1998, he began to receive 50 per cent of his usual salary and will continue to do so until November 2002, when he will have to submit a new medical expertise in accordance with labour legislation. He had previously been dismissed from the Ministry of Education, where he worked as a teacher, following criminal acts of a sexual nature against students from the school where he worked. His wife, Ms. Faustina de la Caridad Feijoo Rodríguez, was dismissed from her workplace for stealing and illegally selling construction clothing and materials.
   • – Mr. Pedro Pablo Hernández Mijares. He is not in Cuba. He left the country in February 2002 heading for the United States.
8. 66. The Government points out that trade unionist status should not be given to a list of names before checking whether they really represent a body of workers, or at least not before checking that the labour relationship required for the exercise of legitimate trade union activity exist.
9. 67. As part of the various activities being promoted by a foreign State against the Cuban revolution, organizations from this country are being used which are established to create fictitious organizations and imaginary leaders of the opposition, with a view to establishing links with organizations in Europe and North America.
10. 68. It has been discovered that the agents in Havana defending the interests of a foreign State have provided more than $300,000 to promote internal tension within our country and generate an artificial climate of alleged violations of trade union rights.
11. 69. It is obvious that the phoney trade unionists mentioned in the communication have turned the development of phantom and virtual “trade unionism” into a lucrative business. These persons are not conducting any trade union work and do not have the support of any body of workers from this country.
12. 70. As regards the alleged refusal by the authorities to recognize the CUTC, the Committee notes the statements made by the Government and the fact that it completely puts into question the CUTC’s representational nature and the election of so-called officials by any body of workers, at the same time as highlighting the counter-revolutionary characteristics of these persons. However, the Committee reminds the Government that during its previous examination of the case it observed that the CUTC was affiliated to CLAT and WCL, which are international trade union organizations, that the annexes to the membership application to the WCL (sent by the complainant) contained more than 400 signatures of Cuban workers, that the annexes also include a communication sent by the CUTC in 1995 to the Register of Inscriptions of the Ministry of Justice, seeking “to be entered in the corresponding register of inscriptions” and subsequently mentioning four workplaces [see 328th Report, para. 40].
13. 71. The Committee observes that at its December 2002 meeting, the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations made an observation on the application of Convention No. 87, in which it points out the following:
14. 1. With regard to trade union monopoly, the Committee notes that, according to the Government, these issues are being examined as part of the Labour Code revision process.
    • Articles 2, 5 and 6 of the Convention. Regarding the need to delete from the Labour Code of 1985 the reference to the Confederation of Workers, the Committee again emphasizes that trade union pluralism must remain possible in all cases. Accordingly, the law must not institutionalize a de facto monopoly. Even where at some point all workers have preferred to unify the trade union movement, they should still remain free to set up unions outside the established structure, should they so wish (see General Survey of 1994 on freedom of association and collective bargaining, paragraph 96).
    • Article 3 of the Convention. With regard to the need to amend Legislative Decree No. 67 of 2983, which confers on the Confederation of Workers the monopoly to represent the country’s workers on government bodies, the Committee urges the Government to amend this provision in order to ensure trade union pluralism, for instance by replacing the reference to the “Confederation of Workers” by the term “most representative organization”.
    • The Committee again expresses the firm hope that the draft revision of the Labour Code will be adopted in the very near future and will take account of the provisions of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to send the Office a copy of the draft revision.
15. 2. Regarding the recommendations of the Committee on Freedom of Association in Case 1961 (see 328th Report, June 2002), in which the Government was asked to ensure the recognition of the Single Council of Cuban Workers (CUTC) and to allow the latter full freedom to carry out its legitimate trade union activities without any threats, intimidation or pressure, the Committee notes that the Government reiterates its observations submitted in the framework of Case No. 1961 to the effect that the above organization has not been shown to carry on any union activities and that, consequently, the persons concerned cannot be assigned any union representational duties being neither leaders nor representatives of any group of workers in any entity in the country. The Committee reiterates that the freedom, de facto and de jure, to establish organizations is the foremost among trade union rights and is the essential prerequisite without which the other guarantees enunciated in Conventions Nos. 87 and 98 would remain a dead letter (see General Survey, op. cit., paragraph 44). The Committee hopes that the necessary measures will be taken to ensure that all workers enjoy this right both in law and in practice.
16. 72. The Committee shares the opinion of the Committee of Experts and requests the Government to take measures so that national legislation and practice are brought into line with Convention No. 87.
17. 73. As regards the alleged arrests of CUTC trade unionists (who were later released), the Committee notes that, according to the Government, Mr. Pedro Pablo Alvarez was detained and put at the disposal of the courts on the grounds of criminal activities and later released. The Committee observes that the Government has not explained the nature of the criminal activities carried out by this person. Neither has it indicated the charges for which the seven other unionists (who were later released) were arrested in relation to the allegations made in the complaint (in its reply, the Government refers to other circumstances and events).
18. 74. The Committee requests the Government in the future to respect the principle according to which “The detention of trade union leaders or members for reasons connected with their activities in defence of the interests of workers constitutes a serious interference with civil liberties in general and with trade union rights in particular” [see Digest of decisions and principles of the Freedom of Association Committee, 1996, para. 71].
19. 75. Lastly, as regards the allegations concerning the harassment of CUTC members, threats of arrest, the confiscation of documents, pressure to prevent a press conference from taking place, and police intimidation at the site of this press conference, the Committee observes that the Government has not specifically referred to these allegations. In this regard, the Committee is therefore bound to deplore these threats and acts of intimidation which, together with the other problems observed in the present case, demonstrate that the exercise of trade union rights of organizations independent of the official union structure, is extremely difficult, if not impossible. Therefore, the Committee highlights that “the right to express opinions through the press or otherwise is an essential aspect of trade union rights” and that “the right of an employers’ or workers’ organization to express its opinion uncensored through the independent press should in no way differ from the right to express opinions in exclusively occupational or trade union journals” [see Digest, op. cit., paras. 153 and 156]. The Committee requests the Government to ensure that these principles are respected.