Country profile CUB
National Legal Framework
National Legal Framework
| Provision | Legislation date | Convention | Legislation info | sources | Value | sort_order | Provision description | Legislation description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| List of hazardous activities prohibited for children | 2013-12-20 | C138 & C182 | Labour Code - Article 68 | [{"link_name":"Labour Code","source_link":"https://www.gacetaoficial.gob.cu/sites/default/files/codigotrabajoactualizado_20022020.pdf"}] | No | 7 | C138 and C182 require the national determination of a list of hazardous work prohibited for children under 18 years of age. The competent authorities should consult with workers' and employers' organizations to determine what types of employment or work are considered to be hazardous. Such a list shall be periodically examined and revised as necessary. | Article 68 of the Labour Code prohibits employment of children aged between 15 to 18 years in hazardous work. However, a list of hazardous work is unavailable. |
| Minimum age for hazardous work | 2013-12-20 | C138 & C182 | Labour Code - Article 68 | [{"link_name":"Labour Code","source_link":"https://www.gacetaoficial.gob.cu/sites/default/files/codigotrabajoactualizado_20022020.pdf"}] | 18 | 6 | C138 and C182 set 18 as the minimum age for hazardous work, which is defined as work that, due to its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to jeopardize children’s health, safety or morals. C138 and C182 allow countries to permit hazardous work exceptionally as from 16, provided that the health, safety and morals of the young persons concerned are fully protected and that they have received adequate specific instruction or training. | Article 68 of the Labour Code prohibits employment of children aged between 15 to 18 years in hazardous work. |
| Minimum age for admission to apprenticeship | 2013-12-20 | C138 | Labour Code - Article 64 | [{"link_name":"Labour Code","source_link":"https://www.gacetaoficial.gob.cu/sites/default/files/codigotrabajoactualizado_20022020.pdf"}] | No | 5 | C138 does not apply to work done in school for general, vocational or technical education or in training institutions or work done by children at least 14 years of age in undertakings, where such work is carried out in accordance with conditions prescribed by the competent authority. Such work must be an integral part of: (i) a course of education or training for which a school or training institution is primarily responsible; (ii) a programme of training mainly or entirely in an undertaking, which programme has been approved by the competent authority; or (iii) a programme of guidance or orientation designed to facilitate the choice of an occupation or of a line of training. | Article 64 of the Labour Code - though not specific in setting the minimum age for apprenticeship - offers protection for children between 15 and 16 years who are authorised to work under exceptional circumstances. The emphasis is on ensuring their safety, proper training, and equal rights in the workplace. |
| Is the minimum age for admission to work not less than the age for completion of compulsory schooling? | 1959-12-26 ; 2019 | C138 | LAW NO. 680 on the First Comprehensive Education Reform of December 26, 1959 - Article 5 ; Cuban Constitution - Article 73 | [{"link_name":"-LAW NO. 680 on the First Comprehensive Education Reform of December 26, 1959","source_link":"https://siteal.iiep.unesco.org/sites/default/files/sit_accion_files/11158.pdf"},{"link_name":"-Cuban Constitution","source_link":"https://www.bcn.cl/procesoconstituyente/comparadordeconstituciones/constitucion/cub"}] | Yes | 4 | C138 requires that the minimum age for admission to work shall not be less than the age of completion of compulsory schooling and, in any case, shall not be less than 15 years. | LAW NO. 680 on the First Comprehensive Education Reform of December 26, 1959: Article 5 states, "Schooling for Cuban children will be mandatory until the age of 12 and up to the sixth grade of primary school. The policy of the Ministry of Education will tend to create the means essential to extend compulsory education until the end of basic secondary school." This is lower than the minimum age for employment that is set at 17 years and is confirmed by Article 73 of the Cuban Constitution (2019), which specifies that basic education is compulsory. |
| Light work - Determination of types and conditions of activities | N/A | C138 | The Cuban national legal framework does not determine what activities are considered light work, and the hours and the circumstances under which they may be carried out. | [{"link_name":"N/A","source_link":"No information"}] | N/A | 3 | If the country chooses to allow light work, States must determine what activities are considered light work, and the hours and the circumstances under which they may be carried out. | Cuba national legal framework does not determine types and conditions of light work allowed. |
| Minimum age for light work | 2013-12-20 | C138 | Labour Code - Articles 22, 64 | [{"link_name":"Labour Code","source_link":"https://www.gacetaoficial.gob.cu/sites/default/files/codigotrabajoactualizado_20022020.pdf"}] | 15 | 2 | C138 defines light work as work that does not interfere with children’s schooling, or their ability to benefit from it, and that is not hazardous. C138 allows countries to permit light work for children younger than the general minimum age. For countries that set the minimum age at 15, this means children aged 13-14, and for those that set it at 14, children aged 12-13 may engage in light work. | Article 22 of the Labour Code sets exceptions under special circumstances for 15 and 16-year-olds to work with consent from their parents or guardians. Article 64 of the Labour Code states that the State protects young people between the ages of 15 and 16 who are exceptionally authorised to work because they have completed their studies in vocational or trade education, or for other reasons that justify it. |
| Minimum age for admission to work | 2013-12-20 | C138 | Labour Code - Article 22 | [{"link_name":"-Labour Code","source_link":"https://www.gacetaoficial.gob.cu/sites/default/files/codigotrabajoactualizado_20022020.pdf"},{"link_name":"-CEACR Direct Request","source_link":"https://normlex.ilo.org/dyn/nrmlx_en/f?p=1000:13100:0::NO:13100:P13100_COMMENT_ID,P13100_COUNTRY_ID:4288420,102603"}] | 17 | 1 | C138 establishes 15 as the minimum age for work in general. Developing countries have the option of setting a minimum age of 14 as a transitional measure as they strengthen their education systems and economies. | According to Article 22 of the Labour Code, the minimum age for employment in Cuba is 17 years with exceptions under special circumstances for 15 and 16-year-olds with consent from their parents or guardians. A Direct Request by CEACR adopted in 2022 on C138 seeks the following clarification: "The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether sections 11(1) and 13 of Legislative Decree No. 45/2021 have been applied in cases of own-account workers who have employed persons under 15 years of age, with an indication of the number of offences detected and the penalties imposed." |
| Is the use, procuring or offering of children for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs, prohibited? | 2022-12-01 | C182 | Cuban Penal Code - Articles 235.1 and 235.2(d) | [{"link_name":"Cuban Penal Code","source_link":"https://www.parlamentocubano.gob.cu/sites/default/files/documento/2022-09/goc-2022-o93_0.pdf"}] | Yes | 11 | C182 prohibits the use, procuring or offering of children for illicit activities in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs. | Articles 235.1 and 235.2(d) of the Cuban Penal Code read together prohibit the act of using, procuring or offering a child under 18 for the production and trafficking of drugs, as well as other types of illicit activities. |
| Is the use, procuring or offering of a child for the purpose of prostitution and for production of pornography prohibited? | 1988-04-30 | C182 | Cuban Penal Code - Article 316 | [{"link_name":"-Cuban Penal Code","source_link":"https://www.parlamentocubano.gob.cu/sites/default/files/documento/2022-09/goc-2022-o93_0.pdf"},{"link_name":"-CEACR Direct Request","source_link":"https://normlex.ilo.org/dyn/nrmlx_en/f?p=1000:13100:0::NO:13100:P13100_COMMENT_ID,P13100_COUNTRY_ID:4288420,102603"}] | No | 10 | C182 prohibits the use of a child under the age of 18 for prostitution, regardless of the child's consent. The use, procuring or offering of any person under the age of 18 for commercial sexual exploitation constitutes a worst form of child labour, even if prostitution is a legalised. In regard to the prohibition of child pornography, States need to make sure that national legislation addresses the involvement of a child in the production of pornographic materials, including non-recorded performances. | Article 316 of the Penal Code establishes prison sentences for the use of persons under 16 years of age for the sale and transfer of persons under 16 years of age, including under any of the forms of international trafficking related to acts of corruption, pornography, prostitution and forced labour. Through its CEACR Direct Request adopted in 2022 on C182, the Committee requested the Government to take the necessary measures to extend this protection to all young persons under 18 years of age, in accordance with the Convention. |
| Is forced or compulsory recruitment of children under 18 for use in armed conflict prohibited? | 1994-01-21 | C182 | National Defence Law - Article 67 | [{"link_name":"National Defence Law","source_link":"https://www.parlamentocubano.gob.cu/sites/default/files/documento/2022-01/GO_O_001_1995.pdf"}] | No | 9 | C182 defines forced or compulsory recruitment of children under 18 for use in armed conflict as a worst form of child labour. Nevertheless, C182 only prohibits the forced or compulsory recruitment of children under 18, and does not cover the voluntary recruitment of children under 18. | Law Number 75 of National Defence (1994), Article 67 establishes a 2-year mandatory military service for males aged 17 years until they turn 28. |
| Is the sale and trafficking of children for sexual and labour exploitation prohibited? | 2022-12-01 | C182 | Cuban Penal Code - Article 363.1 | [{"link_name":"-Cuban Penal Code","source_link":"https://www.parlamentocubano.gob.cu/sites/default/files/documento/2022-09/goc-2022-o93_0.pdf"},{"link_name":"-CEACR Direct Request","source_link":"https://normlex.ilo.org/dyn/nrmlx_en/f?p=1000:13100:0::NO:13100:P13100_COMMENT_ID,P13100_COUNTRY_ID:4288420,102603"}] | Yes | 8 | C182 defines all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour as worst forms of child labour. | Cuban Penal Code Article 363.1 criminalises sex trafficking. "Whoever promotes, organises, incites or executes the recruitment, transportation, transfer, shelter or reception of people, using threats, coercion, violence, deception, or bribery, taking advantage of a situation of vulnerability of the victim or their gender condition, or through payment to whoever has authority over them to obtain their consent, with the purpose of subjecting them to labour or sexual exploitation, forced or compulsory labour, forced marriage, illegal adoption, begging, practices analogous to slavery, servitude, removal of organs or the performance of other criminal activities contrary to human dignity, incurs a penalty of deprivation of liberty for 7 to 15 years." In its CEACR Direct Request adopted in 2022 on C182, the Committee mentions it previously noted that section 316 of the Penal Code establishes penalties of imprisonment for the sale and transfer of persons under 16 years of age, including under any of the forms of international trafficking related to acts of corruption, pornography, prostitution and forced labour. In this regard, the Committee recalled that the Convention protects all persons under 18 years of age from the sale and trafficking of persons for sexual or labour exploitation and requested the Government to adopt the necessary measures to ensure that children between the ages of 16 and 18 years also benefit from this protection. |
International Legal Framework
International Legal Framework
| Ratification status | Convention | Convention description | Date of ratification | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| in-force | C182 | Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) | 28-SEP-2015 | Source |
| in-force | C138 | Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) | 07-MAR-1975 | Source |
Policies and Plans
Policies and Plans
| Description | sources | Period | Policy name | Implementing agency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Research did not provide evidence of any specific action plans or strategies specifically addressing child labour. | [{"link_name":"Source","source_link":"No information"}] | No information | No information | No information |