Yulien Huck, Secretary General of the International Union of Trade Unions in the Agro-Food, Commerce, Textile and Allied Sectors (UISTAACT), held a fraternal meeting in Havana with Ernesto Freire Casañas, representative of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) for Latin America and the Caribbean, marking the conclusion of several days of exchanges with trade unionists from Cuba and other Caribbean nations.
The meeting at the WFTU headquarters served to positively evaluate key issues discussed days earlier at the Cuban Workers’ Central (CTC) during the Executive Committee meeting of UISTAACT for Latin America and the Caribbean. Participants reviewed essential challenges amid the uncertainty caused by the aggressive foreign policy of the Trump administration, including military threats, economic sanctions, and tariff hikes targeting countries in the region.
During the final meeting of his visit, Huck and Freire Casañas examined the differentiated attention needed for banana sector workers in Central America and the coordination of collective bargaining actions at national and subregional levels to defend workers’ rights against transnational corporations, emphasizing the importance of union organization.
They also discussed the follow-up required for the approved work system, prioritizing collective bargaining in transnational companies and the agro-food sector.
The final declaration of the UISTAACT Executive Committee meeting in Havana was highlighted, especially its reaffirmation of class-based unionism as a genuine method for defending workers’ rights.
Participants also condemned the military encirclement—particularly against Venezuela—carried out by the United States and expressed solidarity with fishing workers attacked in the exclusive waters of the Bolivarian nation.
In addition to representatives from Cuba’s food and fishing industry union—leading UISTAACT efforts in the region—and other Cuban national unions, the meeting included leaders from trade union organizations in Mexico, Chile, Ecuador, and Panama.
