Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1989, published 76th ILC session (1989)

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

With reference to its observation, the Committee refers to the following texts:

1. Access to training

- the Child and Youth Code, issued by Act No. 16 of 28 June 1978 (sections 23, 24 and 26, subsection 2);

- Ministry of Education Resolutions No. 400, of 23 May 1977 (first to fourth, eighth and ninth paragraphs and methods of application), and No. 730, of 8 December 1980 (first to third paragraphs and methods of application);

- Ministry of Education Resolutions No. 512, of 3 December 1982, as amended by Resolution No. 385 of 18 August 1983; No. 189 of 27 May 1983; No. 568 of 21 September 1981 (in particular, second paragraph (c)); No. 58 of 6 February 1981 (in particular, third paragraph (a)); No. 234 of 12 June 1982; and No. 300 of 11 June 1981;

- Ministry of Higher Education Resolutions No. 418 of 23 September 1985; No. 193 of 5 July 1982; No. 250 of 31 July 1981; No. 327 of 9 November 1982; and No. 4 of 15 July 1980, so far as these texts require the candidates to be outstanding in fulfilling the obligations imposed by the political and social organisations, or to meet the established political and moral requirements, or to meet the political and ideological conditions laid down in the instructions of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, dated 26 October 1977, in respect of the application of policy at a scientific level, or to follow a conduct in keeping with the principles of the Revolution and to have shown that they have assimilated and applied the scientific and methodological approach of Marxism-Leninism;

- Disciplinary Regulations for Students in Higher Education, approved by the Resolution of the Ministry of Higher Education No. 480 of 7 November 1980 (in particular sections 6, 10(ch), (d) and (e), 11(ch), 37(a) and (b)).

The Committee wishes to refer to paragraphs 77 and following of its 1988 General Survey on Equality in Employment and Occupation, in which it refers to the paramount importance of training and vocational guidance in that they determine the actual possibilities of gaining access to employment and occupations. Discrimination which exists in the matter of access to training and in the quality of the training are subsequently perpetuated and aggravated when the persons who have undergone this training compete to obtain the available jobs. The Committee also referred to the incompatibility with the Convention of texts which in certain cases lay down conditions of a political or ideological nature for appointment to university posts, since the academic posts in question give access to a wide range of jobs for the performance of which, as an intrinsic requirement of the job, there is no need for ideological or political qualifications to be demanded of candidates.

The Committee requests the Government to examine the above provisions in the light of the Convention and to indicate the measures that have been adopted or are envisaged in order to formulate and pursue a policy designed to promote equality of opportunity and treatment in middle and higher education, and to repeal the legislative provisions and modify the practical administrative provisions that are incompatible with such a policy, in accordance with the provisions of Articles 2 and 3(c) of the Convention.

2. Access to employment

With regard to access to employment, the Committee referred to the following texts:

(a) Resolution of the First Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba of 1975, which approved the manifesto on the policy of training, selection, placing, promotion and advancement of managerial staff, under which the policy concerning managerial staff must be based on the characteristics of each leader and an analysis that takes into account among other things their qualities and their political reliability. Similarly, according to the manifesto approved by the Resolution, when managers propose or choose collaborators or officials they must be guided by the political and occupational capacity and the ideological and revolutionary firmness of the candidates.

The Committee requested the Government to supply information concerning the measures that had been adopted to ensure that the policy for selecting managerial staff, their collaborators and other officials is in conformity with Articles 2 and 3(d) of the Convention and to supply a copy of the lists of functions under the State. The Committee notes Legislative Decree No. 82, of 12 September 1984, respecting the conditions of employment of high-level state officials and the Regulations issued thereunder, dated 13 September 1984, which were supplied by the Government.

The Committee notes the reference contained in Legislative Decree No. 82 regarding the list of functions (section 3) and on assessment criteria (section 11). This latter provision requires that the leader be assessed from various points of view and from various sources of information.

The Committee requests the Government to state whether the Resolution of the First Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba is still in force and once again requests it to supply a copy of the lists of functions under the State.

(b) Resolution No. 235, of 12 June 1982, of the Ministry of Education, laying down the rules for the inspection system of this Ministry, which require, for the exercise of the function of national, provincial or municipal inspector of education, the observance of a political and moral conduct in keeping with the principles and aims of the Cuban Socialist State (section 46(a)) and a constant effort to excel oneself in political matters (section 49(i)).

The Committee requests the Government to indicate the current criteria used to assess political and moral conduct and the effort to excel in political matters of education inspectors, and the measures that have been adopted or are envisaged to ensure that the implementation of sections 46(a) and 49(i) of Resolution No. 235 of 1982, is not detrimental to the principles set forth in the Convention.

(c) Resolution No. 702, of 29 December 1981, of the Ministry of Education, laying down the rules for the distribution and placement of graduates of middle and higher educational establishments in accordance with their place on the list (second paragraph). For this purpose account is taken not only of the academic performance, but also of the comprehensive evaluation of the person concerned, including political, ideological, moral and disciplinary aspects and their attitude (third paragraph).

The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures that have been adopted to ensure that the occupational placement of the persons covered by Resolution No. 702 of 1981 is carried out without discrimination.

(d) Legislative Decree No. 34, of 12 March 1980, governing the removal from a function or workplace of teaching or administrative staff in direct contact with pupils and students and of technical staff in teaching. The Committee observes, among the types of conduct that can lead to separation from the function or workplace of such staff, publicly maligning or denigrating the politico-social and mass organisations of the country and having a counter-revolutionary attitude or some other attitude that may, by its importance and social significance, be damaging to the training of children or juveniles (section 2(e) and (i)).

The Committee requests the Government to supply information on the practical effect given to these provisions and on the measures that have been adopted to ensure compliance with the Convention in this matter.

3. Evaluation of workers

The Committee referred to Resolution No. 2713, of 2 November 1983, concerning the keeping up to date of the entries contained in the workbook, entries that were to provide the source of information for the 1985 census of the skilled labour force. The Committee observed that among the entries to be kept up to date was that of political integration.

The Committee requests the Government to state whether Resolution No. 2713 is still in force.

The Committee also noted section 61 of the Labour Code, under which the workbook is the document that contains the entries and record of the work history of the worker, and the work unit is responsible for the establishment, keeping up to date and custody of the workbooks of each of its workers.

The Committee also noted Resolution No. 4533, of 5 August 1983, under which it is compulsory for the work units to retain the workbook and keep up to date the entries, including copies of the certificates of evaluation (5(f)), good work performance (5(i)) and bad work performance (5(j)).

The Committee requests the Government to supply a copy of the form of the workbook. It also requests the Government to supply information on the criteria and procedures used to establish evaluation certificates and asks it to supply copies of the relevant legislation.

The Committee also referred to the following texts:

(a) Resolution No. 590, of 11 December 1980, of the State Committee on Labour and Social Security, which lays down the procedure for the annual evaluation of the contribution and attitude of each worker and defines the acts constituting good performance and bad performance in work. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information on the practical application of this Resolution in relation to the Convention.

(b) Resolution No. 453, of 23 March 1981, of the Cuban Academy of Sciences, which issued the Regulations to give effect to the Act respecting the ranks of research workers (No. 1295 of 8 May 1975). For purposes of verifying compliance with the legal requirements for engagement, promotion and the granting of the various ranks, the Regulations provide that proper use shall be made, among other elements, of the certificate of evaluation of conformity with the system for the supervision, analysis and evaluation of senior scientific and technical staff (section 24(a)), which shall also be the source of the necessary information concerning conduct and revolutionary attitude, for the purpose of increasing rank (section 25).

The Committee hopes that the Government will provide information on the way in which this process of evaluation is carried out in practice and on the measures that exist or are under consideration to preserve equality of opportunity and treatment in accordance with the Convention.

(c) In its previous comments the Committee referred to Resolution No. 428, of 14 March 1980, which laid down rules for the evaluation of workers in journalism, and which in its preamble refers to ideological and political qualities.

The Committee notes that Resolution No. 428 was repealed by Resolution No. 50 of 21 September 1987. The Committee notes that section 3 of Resolution No. 50 respecting the parameters for evaluating the performance of workers in journalism, includes the political and ideological scope of the work performed. The Committee notes that the outcome of the evaluation affects the wage level of the workers in question since an evaluation that is not "positive" has the effect of lowering the worker's wages to the level below the current one (section 27). Section 28 provides that as a result of a non-positive biennial evaluation the employment relationship of the person concerned may be terminated.

The Committee points out that the protection provided by the Convention covers both access to employment and the terms and conditions of employment.

The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures that exist or are envisaged to guarantee to workers in journalism the equality of opportunity and treatment set forth in the Convention.