Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019)

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

The Committee notes the observations of the Independent Trade Union Association of Cuba (ASIC), received on 30 August 2018, alleging the absence of consultations with workers’ and employers’ organizations by the Government for the implementation of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in this respect.

Part V of the Convention (annual holidays with pay). Articles 36 to 42. In its 2013 comments, the Committee hoped that once the new draft Labour Code had been finalized, it would take duly into account its comments relating to the need to amend section 98 of the Labour Code which provided, under certain conditions, for the replacement of holidays by remuneration, without benefiting from the leave. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that section 98 of the previous Labour Code was repealed by Act No. 116 of 20 December 2013, adopting the new Labour Code (the 2013 Labour Code). The Committee notes that section 2(f) of the 2013 Labour Code establishes the right of workers to annual holidays with pay, and that section 74(c) provides that this entitlement shall be for at least seven days. Chapter IX, Part Six, governs entitlement to annual holidays with pay. In particular, section 101 of the 2013 Labour Code provides that workers shall be entitled to 30 calendar days of annual holidays with pay for every 11 months of effective service. Workers who do not complete 11 months of service are entitled to holidays with pay of a duration that is proportionate to the days actually worked. Workers with more than one job are entitled to enjoy effective leave on annual holidays with pay up to a total of 30 calendar days and to be paid the total amount to which they are entitled under each contract. Furthermore, sections 104 and 105 of the 2013 Labour Code establish the requirement for the employer to grant workers annual holidays with pay and to adopt the necessary measures to ensure observance of the programme of holidays and ensure that the rest is effective. Finally, the Committee notes that, under the terms of section 107 of the 2013 Labour Code, “if upon expiry of the period for the enjoyment of the annual holidays with pay, exceptional circumstances arise which require the presence of the worker at work, the employer, having heard the views of the trade union, may postpone the holidays or grant the worker simultaneously payment for the accumulated holidays and the wage for the work performed, guaranteeing an effective period of leave of seven days in the year as a minimum.” The section adds that the worker and the employer shall set out in writing the agreement reached and that days worked in this respect are included in time and wages for the purposes of the new holiday period. The Committee recalls that Article 41 of the Convention provides that any agreement to relinquish the right to an annual paid holiday or to forgo such a holiday, shall be void. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the manner in which it is ensured that section 107 of the 2013 Labour Code gives full expression to this provision of the Convention, particularly in light of the portion of that section of the Code which authorizes the employer to require the presence of the worker, in exceptional circumstances, and which allows the employer to postpone or reduce the worker’s holiday and pay the worker the reduced amount of the accumulated leave.

Part IV. Wages. Articles 24 to 35. The Committee recalls that Part IV of the Convention contemplates the establishment of procedures and mechanisms to fix and ensure minimum wages for plantation workers. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the manner in which effect is given to these provisions of the Convention.

Parts IX and X (right to organize and collective bargaining – freedom of association). Articles 54 to 70. The Government indicates in its report that the 2013 Labour Code recognizes and promotes trade unions in the various sectors. It also provides for measures of protection for the leaders of these organizations with a view to ensuring that they benefit from appropriate facilities for the performance of their functions. The Government also refers to the regulations respecting collective agreements and the mechanisms for the resolution of discrepancies which may arise in their preparation, amendment and revision. Finally, the Government indicates that the National Union of Sugar Workers has 2,010 first-level unions and 127,331 members, and that the National Union of Agricultural, Forestry and Tobacco Workers has 8,834 first-level unions, and 381,094 members. The Committee refers to its 2016 comments on the application of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted or envisaged to ensure that workers in plantations do not suffer discrimination or prejudice in their employment for having peacefully exercised the right to strike, and also requests it to provide information on the exercise of this right in practice. The Committee also refers to its comments on the application of the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), and requests the Government to provide statistical data on the number of collective agreements concluded in plantations, with an indication of the sectors of activity and the numbers of workers covered.

Part XI (labour inspection). Articles 71 to 84. The Committee refers to its 2015 comments on the application of the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), in which it noted with satisfaction the adoption of Decree No. 326 of 12 June 2014 issued under the Labour Code, repealing sections 11 and 12 of the 2007 Regulations on the National Labour Inspection System of 2007, which established the requirement in all inspections for employers to be provided with an inspection order containing certain information, including the purpose of the inspection. The Government indicates that in 2017 the National Labour Inspection Office carried out 76 inspections in the agricultural sector, in which it detected 389 violations, 140 of which were related to occupational safety and health. The Government adds that the principal violations detected consisted of the failure to guarantee safe and healthy conditions for workers and the violation of rules respecting the provision of personal protective equipment. The Committee also notes the information provided by the Government on the penalties imposed. Furthermore, the Committee notes that, in its observations, the ASIC denounces alleged cases of prisoners subjected to forced labour in plantations. The ASIC also denounces cases of child labour during school holidays and the employment of secondary school students in state farms during the harvest period. In this regard, it indicates that the students are not paid for their work, but receive academic credits and a favourable recommendation for entry into university. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the number of prisoners and secondary school students who work in state farms, disaggregated by age, type of work and the manner in which they are compensated, as well as their conditions of work, and the manner in which it is ensured that the students have the freedom to choose whether or not to work. The Committee also requests the Government to continue providing detailed information on the supervision and enforcement measures relating to the conditions of work of plantation workers, and particularly the inspections carried out in plantations, violations of the labour legislation reported and the penalties imposed.

Part IV of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the effect given to the Convention in practice, including: (i) recent studies on the socio-economic conditions of workers in plantations; (ii) statistical information, disaggregated by sex and age, on the number of plantations and workers to whom the Convention applies; (iii) copies of collective agreements applicable in the sector; and (iv) the number of workers’ and employers’ organizations established in the plantations sector, and any other information which enables the Committee to assess the situation of workers in plantations in relation to the provisions of the Convention.

[The Government is asked to send a detailed report in 2019.]