Thank you. I'm very happy to be here.
I just want to make some points about Cuba and unions on this topic.
I'll start out with the fact that Kingston is the only city in Canada that's twinned with a Cuban city, and that's Cienfuegos. That happened in November 2004, with an exchange of mayors and a group that went down from Kingston to Cuba to do that.
On that occasion four representatives from our labour council visited Havana and Cienfuegos in Cuba. We held discussions with local union leaders from the Cienfuegos area. Our Kingston and District Labour Council sponsored, in 2006, two labour leaders to Kingston to attend the twinning conference we co-sponsored. We had discussions in a labour forum that was held there and was well attended. Amarilis Perez Santans, secretary general of the CTC in Cienfuegos province, attended, as did the president of the artists' and writers' union from the city of Trinidad, which is nearby.
In February 2007 I led an exchange with 15 labour council presidents and labour representatives from around Ontario to the Cienfuegos area. We spent a week there, but three full days touring and in discussions with many union leaders and workers around the Cienfuegos area. We toured many workplaces, including an organic farm complex, sugar cane factory, cigar factory, a hospital, a centre for children with speech impediments, which we were very impressed with, with 31 students and 29 instructors for them, and met with about 40 union presidents of the sectors represented by the CTC in the Cienfuegos area.
Based on those and other trips I've taken to Cuba, I'd just like to make some points between what I've heard from the workers down there and what I've read and other things.
The push for this hearing I believe comes from Cuban Canadians, a small group who are aligned with the Cuban-American National Foundation, headquartered in Miami. Workers in Cuba are upset that the U.S. government continually tries to coax Cubans to risk their lives, by any means possible, to get to Florida, where they're given housing, money, and jobs and are held up as a symbol of the American ideals. This is interference, as Cubans are the only people in the world who can enter the U.S. without a passport. I find that information, from Cuban workers, a bit disturbing.
The second point is Cuba is a sovereign country and has a right to defend itself against any aggression. As such, it has laws to protect itself against anyone who is paid by a foreign power to assist and facilitate the overthrow of the Cuban government. The so-called dissidents that we've heard about were paid agents and were tried and found guilty in the Cuban court of law.
The third point is a number of points on unions that I've learned from talking to workers down there. The union structure in Cuba is similar to the one in Canada, with the CTC uniting all unions, much like the Canadian Labour Congress here. The Cuban union movement encompasses more than 98% of Cuban workers through 19 national unions. Workers are not compelled to join a union; however, most choose to do so.
The unions are autonomous, the requirements are prescribed by law, and they are completely self-financed through monthly dues. These union dues are voluntary. Each union will hold their own congress, and the CTC organizes a national congress every five years.
I think there are 15 labour leaders from different provinces in Cuba who are elected and serve in a congress in Havana. One of the people I've dealt with, who I mentioned earlier, Amarilis, who was the general secretary of the CTC in Cienfuegos, was elected to that position in Havana last September and is now in Havana.
Thus, while the unions work closely with the government, unions are independent. Indeed, unions exercise considerable influence in the National Assembly, their Parliament, where there is a significant representation from unions and working people.
The functions of the unions in Cuba are twofold: to further the economic, political, and social interests of the country as a whole and to protect the rights and advance the standards of living of the Cuban workers.
The government must consult the unions on all matters involving labour policy. The workers conduct meetings among themselves, debate the proposals by government, and then decide whether they are amenable to the proposed changes. Among examples of that, in 1995 proposed alterations to social security were rejected by the Cuban Workers' Central, the CTC, resulting in the legislation being sent back to be reworked.
Also in 1995, a provision of the Foreign Investment Act would have allowed joint ventures with foreign investors to directly hire Cuban workers. This was abandoned in the face of opposition from the CTC.
The union also effectively challenged the 1994 proposal to tax workers' wages. Here the government wanted to start something that was similar to income tax, but the workers fought it off. They suggested the government charge small fees for cultural events, such as baseball and theatre, which they did.
By law, workers meet in their work centres twice yearly to participate in discussions on the economic plan of their company or enterprise. Workers have the option of rejecting the proposals offered by management and the administrators. Workers also determine the production norms, the rates, and the work pace.
Unions advocate for workers within a framework of a cooperative relationship with the government. Consequently, there's no antagonism between workers and government, as the government is made up of workers and others who are elected to represent the particular sectors of the Cuban society.
We can say that the simplest indication of the nature of the Cuban state is that the economic crisis of the nineties was not resolved at the expense of workers, their families, or their children. The workers told us of meetings held in every workplace and of a national day of meetings amongst workers when the special period began with the collapse of the Soviet bloc that supported their economy in the face of the U.S. embargo.
I believe unions in Cuba are independent, and the leaders I talk to take pride that this is the case. They take a lot of pride in it. The workers I have talked to on my visits to Cuba all have one common thread: they are a proud, resilient, and friendly people; they are proud that they have been able to endure hardships imposed on them and still have their own democratic government.
I note that some were not born or were very young at the time of the revolution. The economic terrorism, as I call it, that is imposed on the Cuban people by U.S. government policies is where this committee should be exerting its efforts—towards real human rights abuses.
I recommend that this committee recommend increased support for Cuba and petition the U.S. to end the economic embargo. Their policy to inflict pain on the Cuban people is intolerable.
Many thought Cuba would crumble when Fidel left power recently. Even some of the people who came on the tour with us in February were asked by family and friends, should you really go? I saw no mention or talk of any change. The workers are happy with their government, more so than our labour movement at times is with our Canadian government.
I believe many critics are part of a U.S. attempt to create unrest in Cuba in hopes that their 48 years of interference with the Cuban people will be successful. I saw or heard no such movement among the workers.
Thank you.
