Cargando...The announcement this Friday that Law No. 189, the Labor Code, will enter into force in seven days was described as a matter of enormous significance for Cuban workers. This important legal framework is essentially a tool for protecting labor rights, as it guarantees that employment relationships between employers and workers are conducted in a harmonious and coherent manner.
Jesús Otamendi Campos, Minister of Labor and Social Security, stated at a press conference held at the ministry’s national headquarters that the legislation is the result of a broadly democratic process in which more than 2.014 million workers participated through approximately 41,000 meetings, around 1,400 more than initially planned. This occurred despite the passage of Hurricane Melisa through eastern Cuba and the impact of arboviral diseases across the country.
Such participation is no minor detail, as it reflects the popular nature of what could well be considered a landmark event. During its development, beginning in September of last year, more than 97,000 proposals from workers were reviewed, including those from both the state and non-state (private) sectors.
From the outset, the drafting of the law, which was approved by the National Assembly of People’s Power last July, involved academics and experts from central government agencies, professors from various Cuban universities, members of the National Union of Jurists, the National Organization of Collective Law Offices, the Central Workers’ Union of Cuba (CTC), and other specialists.
The new code replaces the one approved in 2013 and responds to the mandates of the 2019 Cuban Constitution, the guidelines of the country’s economic and social policy, and the international commitments assumed by Cuba regarding labor rights.
«It not only regulates duties, but also expands rights. It formalizes workers’ participation in decision-making, recognizes telework, and removes the requirement for administrative authorization for multiple employment in certain professions during work interruptions, among other innovative provisions,» Otamendi Campos said.
For his part, Lidier Águila Machado, a member of the National Secretariat of the CTC and head of the Labor and Social Affairs Department, emphasized the importance of the Labor Code’s implementation process. This, he said, requires extensive training for managers, grassroots leaders, and workers, as well as close support for these structures, particularly in the non-state sector, «which is facing a process of collective bargaining of this nature for the first time.»
Meanwhile, Yiseilis Ferrer Nariño, Director of Legal Affairs and International Relations at Cuba’s Ministry of Labor and Social Security, explained specific details of the law, which was published Friday in the Official Gazette. She noted that the legislation incorporates the impact of the economic and social transformations currently being implemented in the country.
