Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

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

Part IV of the Convention. Wages. Articles 24–35. The Committee notes that the Government refers to the adoption of Resolution No. 29 of 25 November 2020, establishing the national minimum monthly wage at 2,100 pesos (CUP) (approximately US$87.55) and approving the wage scales and rates applicable to all workers. The Government indicates that representatives of the workers and employers participated in all the processes for the adoption of measures. However, the Committee notes that the Government does not provide specific examples of the manner in which representatives of employers’ and workers’ organizations were consulted in the context of determining the minimum wage for plantation workers, as required by Article 24 of the Convention. The Government adds that, according to the National Statistics and Information Office, in 2020 the average monthly wage in agriculture, livestock farming and forestry was CUP1,043 (approximately US$43.49). However, the Committee notes that the Government does not provide any specific information on the wages received by plantation workers, or on the manner in which it is ensured that they receive at least the established national minimum wage. Nor does the Government provide information on the number and results of inspections carried out regarding the payment of wages on plantations. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide specific examples of the manner in which representatives of the workers’ and employers’ organizations in the plantations sector were consulted during the process of determining the minimum wage, in accordance with Article 24 of the Convention. The Committee also once again requests the Government to provide detailed, up-to-date information on the manner in which it is ensured that workers in the plantations sector receive at least the established national minimum wage, and also statistical information on the number and results of inspections conducted on plantations in relation to this matter.

Part V. Annual holidays with pay. Articles 36–42. For nearly 20 years the Committee has been asking the Government to give effect to Article 41 of the Convention. The Committee recalls that, in its 2018 comment, it expressed the hope that the new Labour Code would take due account of its previous comments on the need to amend section 98 of the Labour Code, which provided for cash compensation to be paid in lieu of holidays under certain conditions. The Committee noted that section 98 of the Labour Code was repealed by Act No. 116 of 20 December 2013 adopting the new Labour Code. However, the Committee noted that section 107 of the 2013 Labour Code authorizes the employer to require the presence of the worker under exceptional circumstances, and allows the employer to postpone or reduce the worker’s holidays and pay the worker for the forgone portion of the accumulated holidays. In this regard, the Committee has been asking the Government since 2018 to indicate the manner in which it is ensured that section 107 of the Labour Code gives full effect to Article 41 of the Convention. However, the Committee notes with regret that the Government does not provide any new information on this point and that it merely reiterates that holidays can only be postponed under exceptional circumstances and that measures are adopted to protect this right. The Committee therefore urges the Government to take the necessary measures to give full effect to Article 41 of the Convention, which provides that any agreement to relinquish the right to an annual holiday with pay, or to forgo such a holiday, shall be void. Noting that section 107 of the 2013 Labour Code contains the same formulation on holidays with pay as that contained in section 98 of the former Labour Code, a section that the Committee already referred to as not being in conformity with Article 41 of the Convention, the Committee refers to its 2013 comments on the Holidays with Pay Convention, 1936 (No. 52), in which it asked the Government to amend section 98 of the Labour Code or to specify that this section cannot be applied to the minimum holidays provided for in section 95 of the Labour Code.

Parts IX and X. Right to organize and collective bargaining. Freedom of association. Articles 54–70. The Committee notes the statistical information provided by the Government, indicating that there are a total of 350,760 workers in agriculture, of whom 229,000 are state workers, 15,107 are non-state workers and 36,000 are retirees, and that 99.4 per cent of these workers are unionized. The Government also indicates that there are 8,020 base-level organizations and 43 trade union bureaux and that a total of 1,223 collective agreements have been signed. However, the Committee notes that the statistical information provided by the Government refers to the agricultural sector but does not refer specifically to workers on plantations. Moreover, the Government does not provide any specific information on the measures taken or envisaged to ensure in practice that workers on plantations enjoy appropriate protection against any act of discrimination aimed at undermining freedom of association in relation to their employment. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to provide statistical information on the number of collective agreements signed specifically with respect to plantations and to indicate the number of workers covered. The Committee also once again requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to ensure in practice that workers on plantations enjoy adequate protection against any act of discrimination aimed at undermining freedom of association in relation to their employment.

Part XI. Labour inspection. Articles 71–84. In its previous comments, the Committee asked the Government to indicate the manner in which the labour inspectorate monitors and ensures that the activities of the vocational training and occupational guidance process on plantations comply with Article 6 of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138). However, the Committee notes that the Government does not provide any information on this matter. The Committee also asked the Government to send detailed information on the numbers of secondary-school students working on plantations, disaggregated by age, type and conditions of work, and on how they are compensated, and also on the manner in which it is ensured that these students and prisoners who work on the plantations have the freedom to choose whether or not to work. The Committee notes that the Government provides a partial reply in this regard, indicating that the Ministry of Education establishes working procedures for each school year, regulates vocational and work training for school students, on the basis of the principle of combining theory with practice by linking study and work, on a voluntary and unpaid basis, respecting the special guarantees and protection provided for in the legislation. As regards work done by prisoners, the Government indicates that such work is voluntary. In reply to the Committee’s previous comment, the Government states that in 2020 the National Labour Inspection Office carried out inspections in 4,246 entities, covering 927,921 workers in the state sector, including in agriculture. The Government adds that these inspections mainly checked compliance with measures for the prevention and control of COVID-19. The Government also indicates that the National Labour Inspection Office has not detected any cases of forced labour or of child labour and that the Public Assistance Office at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security has not received any complaints in this regard. However, the Committee notes that the Government does not provide any specific information on workers on plantations. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to provide detailed information on the supervision and enforcement measures relating to the conditions of work of plantation workers, particularly the inspections carried out on plantations, violations of the labour legislation reported, and the penalties imposed. Furthermore, the Committee once again requests the Government to indicate the manner in which the labour inspectorate conducts inspections and ensures that the activities of the vocational training and occupational guidance process for students on plantations comply with Article 6 of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138). The Committee also requests the Government to indicate which criteria, including age and sex, are used to select students who work on plantations, and how it is ensured that work on plantations is relevant to them in the context of the work-study link referred to above. Lastly, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the manner in which it is ensured that secondary-school students and prisoners who work on plantations have the freedom to decide whether or not to work.

Part IV. Application in practice. The Committee notes that no information has been supplied by the Government on the application of the Convention in practice. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to provide detailed, up-to-date information on the application of the Convention in practice, including: (i) recent studies on the socio-economic conditions of workers on 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 on plantations in relation to the provisions of the Convention.