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| Wave of repression against the 'Consejo Unitario de Trabajadores Cubanos' - CUTC - |
Pedro Pablo Alvarez | Oscar Espinosa Chepe |
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- Secretary General of the CUTC | - Journalist at the CUTC |
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- Arrested on 18 March 2003 | - Condemned to 20 years in jail |
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- Condemned to 25 years in jail | |
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Presentation of the case:
CUTC Trade union leaders arrested and trade union material illegally seized |
According to the information provided by our Latinoamerican Commission for the Rights and Freedoms of the Workers and Peoples – CLADEHLT, its Commissioner for the Caribbean region and the STC (Solidaridad de Trabajadores Cubanos), Cuban State Security officers cracked down against well-known members of the Cuban opposition, especially journalists and leaders of workers' organizations, since March 18th 2003. More than 70 people have been arrested.
One of the people arrested was Pedro Pablo Alvarez Ramos, Secretary-General of the CUTC (Consejo Unitario de Trabajadores Cubanos), an independent trade union affiliate of the CLAT (Central latinoamericana de trabajadores) and the WCL (World Confederation of Labour).
His house was searched at night. He was then arrested and taken to Villa Maristas (Cuban State Security headquarters). Besides, all the books kept in the Trade Union library "Emilio Máspero", property of the CUTC, as well as a computer, two fax machines, three typewriters and three radios were illegally seized.
The following people have also been arrested (All of them are CUTC members):
| - | Carmelo Díaz Fernández, director at the Trade Union Press Agency |
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| - | Alfredo Felipe Fuente, trade union delegate |
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| - | Oscar Espinosa Chepe, journalist |
On Friday 4 April, a public prosecutor asked the court to sentence Pedro Pablo Álvarez to 25 years', Oscar Espinosa Chepe to 20 years' and Carmelo Díaz Fernandez to 15 years' imprisonment.
Case history:
Prohibition of free functioning, independent trade union organisations |
Cuba is one of the countries with the most ILO Conventions ratified. Conventions 87 and 98 are supported by the Cuban Constitution and Labour Code or Law 49 that admits and recognizes the rights confirmed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But trade union freedom is only guaranteed by law, not in practice.
Right from its Constitution in 1995, the Consejo Unitario de Trabajadores Cubanos (CUTC) asked to be legalized and presented its Charter at the Register of Associations of the Department of Justice. Eight years have passed since then and there still is no answer, not even a negative one. The CUTC has created the Instituto Cubano de Estudios Sindicales Independiente (Cuban Institute for Independent Trade Union Studies - ICESI), the Buró de Asesoramiento Jurídico Independiente Laboral (Agency for Independent Juridical Advise on Labour matters - BAJIL), the Agencia de Prensa Sindical Independiente (Independent Trade Union Press Agency - APSIC) and the Biblioteca Sindical Independiente “Emilio Máspero” (Independent Trade Union Library “Emilio Maspero”).
From the very constitution of the CUTC, its members have been victim of anti-trade union actions of all sorts: proposition to leave the country for trade union training, etc.
After a 4-year effort and in spite of permanent harassment, the CUTC fulfilled the necessary obligations, got about 1,000 registered and authenticated signatures and asked and obtained recognition and membership of the Central Latinoamericana de Trabajadores (CLAT).
In the year 2000, in accordance with its Statutes, the CUTC publicly convoked its 1st Congress and invited observers from trade unions from abroad, after having informed and asked permission to the Cuban authorities. The answer was the arbitrary detention of Pedro Pablo Álvarez its Secretary General, on 13 October 2000, and the seizure of $6.000,oo paid by way of international solidarity to finance the Congress costs. An international trade union delegate arrived at Cuba to participate in this first Congress, but was returned to the airport without being allowed to get in touch with her Embassy.
Pedro Pablo Álvarez was kept in the prison of Valle Grande till 16 January 2001. His case was dismissed by a public prosecutor who didn’t find any evidence to condemn him.
During this trial, the World Confederation of Labour (WCL) recognised and affiliated the CUTC, which applied and duly qualified for this.
The Solidaridad de Trabajadores Cubanos (STC), also affiliated to the CLAT and the WCL, often had to represent the CUTC at Latin American and international meetings, because the Cuban government does not allow independent trade unionists to leave the country for meetings with their counterparts in the free world. The funds that the authorities seized and that were intended for the 1st CUTC Congress, have never been returned.
The CUTC collected 11,020 signatures which the mentor of the Varela Project, Oswaldo Payá Sardinas (who received from the European Parliament the A. Sakharov Prize), presented to the National People’s Assembly in May 2001, in compliance with the laws of the Republic of Cuba. The CUTC activists travelled all around the country to collect these signatures.
This activity strengthened the CUTC, but resulted in an even harsher repression on the part of the authorities.
They put a lot of effort in starting an ambitious training programme. Moreover, a sizeable donation of books led to the quantitative and qualitative expansion of the independent trade union library ‘Emilio Máspero’. All this material was seized on 18 March.
All these anti-union actions against the CUTC were reported to the ILO, which intervened, through its Director General, and through the Committee on Freedom of Association.
(See: Report No. 330 (Vol. LXXXVIII, 2003, Series B, No. 1, on the basis of the complaint that WCL filed on 26.03.1998):
http://webfusion.ilo.org/public/db/standards/normes/libsynd/index.cfm?lang=EN
| The text below has been taken from the 230th Report of the ILO Committee on the Freedom of Association: |
The Committee observes that at its December 2002 meeting, the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations made an observation on the application of Convention No. 87, in which it points out the following:
| 71. | With regard to trade union monopoly (…) The Committee again expresses the firm hope that the draft revision of the Labour Code will be adopted in the very near future and will take account of the provisions of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to send the Office a copy of the draft revision. (…) |
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| 73. | As regards the alleged arrests of CUTC trade unionists (who were later released), the Committee notes that, according to the Government, Mr. Pedro Pablo Alvarez was detained and put at the disposal of the courts on the grounds of criminal activities and later released. The Committee observes that the Government has not explained the nature of the criminal activities carried out by this person. Neither has it indicated the charges for which the seven other unionists (who were later released) were arrested in relation to the allegations made in the complaint (in its reply, the Government refers to other circumstances and events). |
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| 74. | The Committee requests the Government in the future to respect the principle according to which “The detention of trade union leaders or members for reasons connected with their activities in defence of the interests of workers constitutes a serious interference with civil liberties in general and with trade union rights in particular” [see Digest of decisions and principles of the Freedom of Association Committee, 1996, para. 71]. |
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| 75. | Lastly, as regards the allegations concerning the harassment of CUTC members, threats of arrest, the confiscation of documents, pressure to prevent a press conference from taking place, and police intimidation at the site of this press conference, the Committee observes that the Government has not specifically referred to these allegations. In this regard, the Committee is therefore bound to deplore these threats and acts of intimidation which, together with the other problems observed in the present case, demonstrate that the exercise of trade union rights of organizations independent of the official union structure, is extremely difficult, if not impossible. Therefore, the Committee highlights that “the right to express opinions through the press or otherwise is an essential aspect of trade union rights” and that “the right of an employers’ or workers’ organization to express its opinion uncensored through the independent press should in no way differ from the right to express opinions in exclusively occupational or trade union journals” [see Digest, op. cit., paras. 153 and 156]. The Committee requests the Government to ensure that these principles are respected. |
This wave of repression has occurred a few days after the European Union opened an office in Cuba and after Cuba applied for membership to the Cotonou Agreement (between the European Union and the ACP countries – Africa/Caribbean/Pacific –).
It also took place after the Cuban authorities denied the entry of Ms. Christine Chanet, Special representative for Cuba of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights.
The WCL, through its Human Rights and International Labour Standards Department, launches an appeal to exert a strong pressure on the Cuban authorities and to demand the release of the imprisoned trade union leaders, the return of the CUTC material seized by the authorities, the respect of of freedom of association and the respect of human rights.
On the right side of this screen you'll find a model letter, which we suggest you to use as a reference for your campaign:
We suggest that you send this letter to:
| - | M. Fidel Castro Ruz
President of the State Council
Palacio de la Revolución
La Habana, Cuba |
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| - | M. Salvador Valdés
Minister of Labour and Social Assistance
Calle 23 y P.- Vedado
La Habana, Cuba. |
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| - | The Cuban Embassy or consulate in your country |
Please send a copy to:
Apart from this action, we suggest that you conduct other awareness raising campaigns sucg as demonstrations in front of the Cuban embassies, etc...
| Pour plus d’information, veuillez consulter: |
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