Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Cuba (Ratification: 1975)

Article 9(1) of the Convention. Sufficiently dissuasive and effective penalties. The Committee noted previously the adoption of the new Labour Code and its implementing Regulations of 17 June of 2014. It noted that section 224(a) of the Regulations prohibits the employment of young persons under the age of 17, except in cases specifically envisaged by the legislation. The Committee however noted that, under the terms of section 234 of the Regulations giving effect to the Labour Code, the penalty imposed on employers in violation of the Labour Code has been reduced from 6,500 Cuban pesos (CUP) (under the terms of Legislative Decree No. 246 of 29 May 2007) to CUP2,000, which is doubled in the case of a repeat offence. The Committee therefore requested the Government to indicate the manner in which it is ensured that any person in breach of the provisions respecting the employment of young persons under 18 years of age is liable to sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties.

The Committee notes with interest the Government’s indication in its report that conviction to a fine under section 234 of the Regulations giving effect to the Labour Code is not the sole penalty in the event of violations of the provisions respecting young persons under 18 years of age. The Government indicates that, in the event of violation, section 231 of the Regulations allows the labour inspectorate to directly: (i) issue an injunction for the cessation of any violation; (ii) order the immediate confiscation of equipment and machinery or the closure of the workplace or work centre considered to be hazardous for the safety and health of workers, the population as a whole, or both; and (iii) penalize persons or associations in the private sector. Section 232 of the Regulations specifies that the administrative or disciplinary measures taken by the labour inspection services must be proportionate to the gravity of the offence, that a temporary or permanent suspension of the permit granted to the employer may be ordered by the competent bodies and that penal measures shall be initiated in the event of a fatal accident.