Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. February 25, 2009.
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b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
Although provided for in the law, collective bargaining did not exist in practice. In February the government issued a resolution aimed at linking pay to worker performance, but it had not been implemented by year's end.
The law denies all workers, except those with special government permission, the right to contract directly with foreign companies investing in the country. Although a few firms negotiated exceptions, the government required foreign investors and diplomatic missions to contract workers through state employment agencies. The foreign firms and diplomatic missions paid the agencies in hard currency, but the agencies paid the workers only a fraction of that income. Workers subcontracted by state employment agencies must meet certain political qualifications. The state employment agencies consulted with the CP, the CTC, and the UJC to ensure that the workers chosen "deserved" to work in a joint enterprise.
The last export processing zone was closed in 2006.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
The law does not prohibit forced or compulsory labor by adults; prisoners convicted of crimes such as "dangerousness" were forced to work on farms or in construction, agricultural, or metal work. The authorities also often imprisoned persons sent to work sites who refused to work.
Compulsory, unpaid labor, called "voluntary work," was regularly organized by official trade unions, either to accomplish ordinary production or to complete other tasks such as repairs, cleaning, painting, decorating, or to mobilize a large agricultural labor force.
The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor by children, but the government required children to work in various situations (see section 6.d.).
On August 8, a judge in a foreign court ruled in favor of three Cuban men who in 2006 sued the Curacao Drydock Corporation, alleging that it, in collusion with the Cuban government, forced them to work without compensation to repay a Cuban government debt to the company. On October 20, the foreign court awarded the men an $80 million judgment.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment
The law prohibits forced and compulsory labor by children, and the Ministry of Labor and Social Security was responsible for enforcement. Nonetheless, the government required children to work in various situations.
Students at rural boarding schools were expected to participate in several hours of manual labor per day. Secondary school students were expected to devote up to 15 days of their summer vacation completing a variety of tasks ranging from farm labor to urban cleanup projects, and were paid a small wage for this labor. Students in postsecondary institutions (technical schools, university preparatory schools, and agricultural institutes) were expected to devote 30 to 45 days per year to primarily agricultural work. Refusal to do agricultural work or some substitute could result in expulsion from school, although such expulsions rarely occurred.
The legal minimum working age is 17, although the labor code permits the employment of 15-and 16-year-old children to obtain training or to fill labor shortages. However, in practice it was rare that children under 17 worked. The labor code does not permit teenagers to work more than seven hours per day or 40 hours per week, or on holidays. Children ages 13 to 18 cannot work in specified hazardous occupations, such as mining, or at night.
There were no known government programs to prevent child labor or remove children from such labor.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
The minimum wage, which is enforced by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, varies by occupation. On average, the minimum monthly wage was approximately 225 pesos ($9). The government supplemented the minimum wage with free education, subsidized medical care (daily pay is reduced by 40 percent after the third day of a hospital stay), housing, and some subsidized food. Even with subsidies, the government acknowledged that the minimum wage did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family.
The standard workweek is 44 hours, with shorter workweeks in hazardous occupations, such as mining. The law provides workers with a weekly 24-hour rest period. These standards were effectively enforced. The law does not provide for premium pay for overtime or prohibit obligatory overtime but places a cap on the number of overtime hours that may be worked per week or per year. Compensation for overtime is paid either in cash at the regular hourly rate or in additional rest time, particularly for workers directly linked to production or services, and does not apply to management. Workers frequently complained that overtime compensation was either not paid or not paid in a timely manner. The law provides little grounds for a worker to refuse to work overtime. Refusal to work overtime could result in a notation in the employee's official work history that could imperil subsequent requests for vacation time.
Laws providing for workplace environmental and safety controls were inadequate, and the government lacked effective enforcement mechanisms. The law provides that a worker who considers his life in danger because of hazardous conditions has the right to refuse to work in a position or not to engage in specific activities until such risks are eliminated; the worker remains obligated to work temporarily in whatever other position may be assigned at a salary provided for under the law.
A former president of the Confederation of Independent Workers of Cuba stated on October 19 that there were numerous violations of health and safety laws at worksites throughout the country, and that conditions were particularly dangerous in the construction industry. Welders and persons who work with pesticides, he alleged, were rarely provided with protective equipment. Truck drivers for state firms frequently had to drive vehicles in poor repair. He stated that the CTC seldom informed workers of their rights and did not respond to or assist workers who complained about hazardous workplace conditions. For example, on July 20, 12 workers from the Work Center Minimax de la Lisa officially complained to the chief for trade for the La Lisa district about unsanitary conditions, broken and clogged toilets, and a roof in imminent danger of collapse but never received a reply.
2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices / All countries
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