Definitive Report - Report No 12, 1954

Case No 65 (Cuba) - Complaint date: 09-JUL-52 - Closed

A. Analysis of the Complaints

1. 102. The complainant alleges, in a first communication dated 9 July 1952, that Mr. Lázaro Peña, Vice-President of the World Federation of Trade Unions and a Cuban union leader, and Mr. José Morera, Secretary of the Confederation of Latin American Workers, were arrested on 4 July 1952 at Havana Airport on their return from a meeting of the W.F.T.U Executive Committee, and considers that their arrest constitutes a clear violation of trade union rights.
2. 103. In a second communication dated 8 September 1953 the complainant states that the Government unleashed at the end of July 1953 a wave of persecution against the trade union and democratic movement in Cuba. Several trade union and democratic leaders, among whom were Mr. Lázaro Peña and the workers' leaders in the tobacco and transport industries, namely, Joaquin Ordoqui, Jorge Garcia Gallo, Gonzalo Collado, Carlos Fernández and José Maria Pérez, were thrown into prison. The premises of several trade unions and the residence of Lázaro Peña were ransacked by the police. The workers' daily newspaper Noticias de Hoy was banned. All Constitutional guarantees were suppressed on pretext of a plot which had no connection with the trade union or democratic movement. The real reason for these persecutions and repression is to be found in the intention of the Government to strike a blow against the unified struggle of the workers for their economic and social demands and for the maintenance of trade union and democratic freedom.

B. Analysis of the Replies

• Analysis of the First Reply
  104. 104 In its reply dated 14 July 1953 the Cuban Government merely stated that the arrests of Messrs. Lázaro Peña and Josh Morera had no connection with their trade union activities but constituted an internal security measure.
• Request for Supplementary Information
  105. 105 At its meeting in November 1953 the Committee had before it the letter from the Cuban Government dated 14 July 1953 and a second complaint from the World Federation of Trade Unions dated 8 September 1953. The Committee, taking account of the fact that the second complaint was more general in scope than the original complaint, decided to postpone the examination of the case as a whole so as to give the Government the opportunity of submitting its observations on the second complaint. The Committee also asked the Director-General to obtain from the Cuban Government further information on the reasons for the arrests of the trade union leaders mentioned in the first complaint and on the proceedings instituted as a result of these arrests.
• Analysis of the Second Reply
  106. 106 In its letter dated 6 January 1954 the Cuban Government replied that the W.F.T.U as well as the C.T.A.L. (Confederation of Latin American Workers) are Communist-inspired organisations. Lázaro Peña and the other persons mentioned in the complaints, while they had been, at one stage, leaders of certain workers' organisations which in the guise of trade union organisations were in fact political organisations, were ousted from the trade union movement by the workers themselves.
  107. 107 Temporary suspension of individual rights guaranteed by the Constitution was decreed following an attack on the Moncada Army Barracks at Santiago de Cuba. Article 41 of the Constitution provides for the suspension of these guarantees in cases of public disturbances or in other cases which may seriously disturb the public order. All Constitutional guarantees were re-established as soon as public order was restored.
  108. 108 The administrative authorities or, as the case may be, the judicial authorities have the right to bring about the arrest and passing of judgment on any citizen, whether he is a trade union leader or not, in accordance with the legislation in force. Workers' and employers' leaders in Cuba may not avail themselves of a privileged status such as the parliamentary immunity enjoyed by members of parliament. This is all the more true since the persons mentioned in the complaints are former political leaders who do not now represent any workers' organisation. It is for this reason that Cuban workers' organisations and, in particular, the Cuban Confederation of Workers and its affiliated organisations, did not see fit to submit a protest.
  109. 109 Lastly, under the terms of Decree No. 1170 dated 30 October 1953 the " interventionist " political action of international communism was banned as being contrary to the democratic régime of the Government of the Republic and the organisations which support communism or foment it were declared illegal.
  110. 110 In conclusion, the Cuban Government states that the allegations that infringements of trade union rights were committed have not been proved. The measures of repression to which the persons mentioned in the complaint were subjected were taken only for political reasons in accordance with the provisions of the legislation outlawing the Communist movement.

C. C. The Committee's conclusions

• Preliminary Question concerning the " Status as Trade Unionists " of the Persons Mentioned in the Complaint
  111. 111 In its communication dated 6 January 1954 the Government emphasises that Mr. Lázaro Peña and the other persons mentioned in the complaint who had been at one stage leaders of some workers' organisations had, in fact, been ousted from the trade union movement by the workers themselves. The Government seems to deduce from this fact that these persons should not avail themselves of the procedure of investigation and conciliation on freedom of association.
  112. 112 In its first report the Committee on Freedom of Association decided that it would not regard any complaint as irreceivable simply because the government in question has dissolved or proposes to dissolve the organisation on behalf of which a complaint is made.
  113. 113 The Committee notes that, in the case under consideration, the Government does not formally question the legal right of the World Federation of Trade Unions or of the Confederation of Latin American Workers, " communist-inspired organisations ", to submit a complaint, but it does question the " status as trade unionists " of the persons who were allegedly subjected to repressive measures. In accordance with paragraph 20 of the Ninth Report of the Committee on Freedom of Association relating to the procedure for the preliminary consideration of complaints alleging violations of trade union rights, the complaints should relate to specific infringements of trade union rights. The Cuban Government emphasises that this is not so since the measures of repression were taken against persons who had lost their status as trade unionists not because of any action by the public authorities but by reason of their having been ousted from the trade union movement by the workers themselves.
  114. 114 The Committee, while considering that the scope of the procedure of investigation and conciliation on freedom of association may be extended by definition only to workers or employers as members of an association, and while recognising that a worker or an employer may lose his status as a member of an association and consequently lose any right under the procedure, notes, however, that Mr. Lázaro Peña, Vice-President of the World Federation of Trade Unions, and Mr. José Morera, Secretary of the Confederation of Latin American Workers, still fulfil duties of a trade union character in the international trade union movement, a fact which is not questioned by the Cuban Government.
  115. 115 In the circumstances the Committee considers that it should not abstain from examining a complaint submitted by an international trade union organisation which is competent to do it, solely because the persons concerned are no longer members or leaders of a national trade union.
• Allegation concerning the Arrest of Certain Trade Union Leaders
  116. 116 The Cuban Government ratified, on 29 April 1952, the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), and, on 25 June 1952, the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87).
  117. 117 According to the observations made in the first communication from the World Federation of Trade Unions, Mr. Lázaro Peña, Vice-President of the World Federation of Trade Unions, and Mr. José Morera, Secretary of the Confederation of Latin American Workers, were arrested on 4 July 1952 on their return from a meeting of the W.F.T.U. Executive Committee. In the opinion of the complainant these arrests were made because these persons had taken part in the above-mentioned meeting.
  118. 118 The Government, while invoking the reasons set forth in paragraphs 111 to 115 above, emphasises that these arrests were made solely for reasons of public security.
  119. 119 The Committee recalls that on several occasions and, in particular, in the case relating to Tunisia, it has expressed the opinion that the right of national workers' organisations to affiliate with international organisations of workers, a right recognised by Article 5 of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948, which was ratified by Cuba, carries with it, in the case of representatives of national workers' organisations, the right to maintain contact with the international workers' organisations to which their organisations are affiliated and to take part in their work, and that it is desirable that every latitude should be afforded to them for this purpose.
  120. 120 While reaffirming the opinions it has previously expressed, the Committee considers that in the present case the allegation should be examined in the light of the over-all situation which has been clearly set forth in the second communication of the complainant and the detailed reply of the Government.
• General Allegations concerning Various Infringements of Trade Union Rights
  121. 121 In its communication dated 8 September 1953 the complainant alleges that several trade union and democratic leaders, among whom were Mr. Lázaro Peña and the workers' leaders in the tobacco and transport industries, Joaquin Ordoqui, Jorge Garcia Gallo, Gonzalo Collado, Carlos Fernández and José Maria Pérez, were arrested, that the premises of several trade unions were occupied and ransacked by the police, that the workers' daily newspaper Noticias de Hoy was suppressed and that Constitutional guarantees were suspended on pretext of a plot which had no connection with the trade union movement.
  122. 122 The Government maintains, however, that following an armed attack against the Moncada Army Barracks at Santiago de Cuba it was forced to suspend the fundamental rights recognised in the Constitution. Article 41 of the Constitution provides for such suspensions in case of public disturbances and in other cases which may seriously disturb the public order.
  123. 123 Under the terms of the above-mentioned article of the Constitution the Government promulgated a Decree (No. 989 of 26 July 1953 published in the Gaceta Oficial of the same date), the main provision of which is the following:
• Article 1. The rights guaranteed by articles 26, 27, 28 and 29 (judicial and other guarantees in case of detention), 30 (freedom of movement), 32 (secrecy of correspondence,) 33 (freedom of opinion), 36 (right of petition), 37 (right of assembly and association) and 71 (right to strike) are suspended for a period of 90 days on the entire territory of the Republic.
  124. 124 It appears therefore that the guarantee of the right of workers to organise, which is specifically recognised by article 69 of the Constitution, was not directly involved; certain other basic guarantees connected with trade union rights, such as freedom of opinion, freedom of assembly and association, and also the right to judicial guarantees in case of arrest, were temporarily suspended.
  125. 125 The Committee notes that an armed attack made against an army barracks in Santiago de Cuba, an event purely political in character, was at the origin of the suspension of Constitutional guarantees and of the emergency measures taken in application of the Decree of 26 July 1953.
  126. 126 In this respect the Committee recalls that, in its first report, it endorsed the general principle which the Governing Body, on the recommendation of its Officers, adopted for the examination of cases of this nature. The Committee unanimously considered it inappropriate for the I.L.O to discuss questions of a purely political character, but recognised that situations which are political in origin may have social aspects which the I.L.O may be called upon to examine. The Committee considers that it should be guided by this principle in the consideration of this particular case and confine its examination to the purely trade union aspects of the case.
  127. 127 The allegations submitted by the complainant refer, inter alia, to the abolition of the right of assembly and association, to the occupation and ransacking of trade union premises, to the suppression of a workers' daily newspaper and to the arrest of a certain number of trade union leaders without any legal proceedings being instituted.
  128. 128 The Committee, while refraining from expressing an opinion on the political aspect of a state of emergency and while recalling that under the terms of Article 8 of Convention No. 87, which has been ratified by the Cuban Government, workers and employers and their respective organisations like other persons or organised collectivities shall respect the law of the land, provided that the law of the land shall not impair the guarantees provided for in the Convention, has nevertheless expressed the opinion on several occasions that a free trade union movement can develop only under a régime which guarantees fundamental rights including the right of trade unionists to hold meetings in trade union premises, freedom of opinion expressed through speech and the press and the right of organised workers to receive a fair trial at the earliest possible moment in case of arrest.
  129. 129 While reaffirming this principle the Committee notes the observations made by the Government which states that the repressive measures were taken solely in view of the need to cope with a revolutionary movement and had no connection with the free exercise of trade union rights. In support of this statement the Government points out that the Cuban Confederation of Workers and its affiliated organisations have not seen fit to submit a protest. It also appears from the observations submitted by the Government that after a 90-day period all Constitutional guarantees were fully restored.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 130. In these circumstances the Committee, having regard, first, to the highly political character of these events, and, secondly, to the fact that the complaint is now purposeless since the Constitutional guarantees have been restored, recommends the Governing Body, subject to the observations made in paragraphs 119, 120, 128 and 129 above, to decide that the case as a whole does not call for further examination.