Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Cuba (Ratification: 1965)

Other comments on C111

Observation

Direct Request

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Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. Discrimination on the basis of sex. Sexual harassment. In its previous comments, the Committee asked the Government to indicate whether the Office of the Prosecutor-General hears complaints both of quid pro quo and hostile working environment sexual harassment. It requested the Government to report on the complaints on these grounds received by the Office of the Prosecutor-General and the Labour Inspectorate and those heard by the judiciary. The Committee notes that, in its report, the Government states that in so far as any complaints of rights violations may be filed with the Office of the Prosecutor-General, the latter will hear complaints of sexual harassment, but that to date no such complaints have been recorded. The Government indicates that in 2014, five cases were examined by the judiciary in which the complainants, in the workplace, were subordinates of the accused. The Committee observes that neither the new Labour Code (Act No. 116 of 20 December 2013) nor its implementing regulations (Decree No. 326 of 12 June 2014) include provisions defining and prohibiting sexual harassment in employment and occupation. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the number of complaints of sexual harassment at work filed with the Office of the Prosecutor-General and the Labour Inspectorate, and on the number of cases examined by the judiciary, the processing of the complaints, any penalties imposed and compensation awarded. Furthermore, observing that the new Labour Code does not contain provision on these matters, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary steps to ensure that the legislation includes a provision clearly defining and prohibiting all forms of sexual harassment in the workplace, both quid pro quo and hostile environment harassment, and requests the Government to provide information on progress made in this regard. It also requests the Government to provide information on any other measures taken for the purpose of preventing sexual harassment in the workplace.

Discrimination on the basis of political opinion. The Committee has for years been referring to the need to ensure that individuals are protected in occupation and employment against discrimination based on political opinion. In this context, the Committee has asked the Government to provide information on any cases involving journalists who have been detained, prosecuted or accused of other offences. The Committee notes that, according to the Government, no one has been punished for exercising freedom of expression or opinion. The Committee further notes that the Government refers to protective measures available, in the event of discrimination, to any workers who express ideas contrary to the regime, including section 2 of the new Labour Code and the Regulations to Implement the Labour Code (Decree No. 326 of 12 June 2014), which allow legal action to be brought for violations of fundamental rights. The Committee further notes that the Government denies that there have been instances of citizens detained and prosecuted for carrying on the profession of journalist, and reiterates that the persons the Committee has referred to, and who profess to be independent journalists, are seeking to destroy the constitutional order, have no occupational links with the country’s journalism sector and cannot be accredited as journalists. The Committee observes that in its annual report for 2015, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) found that “the constant violations of the right of freedom of expression, freedom of association, and freedom of movement of independent journalists, opposition figures, and demonstrators continued in Cuba in 2015, with arbitrary detentions, attacks, persecution, harassment, and threats by State agents, or encouraged by them, in a legal context that imposes criminal and administrative sanctions when the exercise of the freedom of expression may bother the authorities” (IACHR, annual report, 2015, paragraphs 39 and 86). The Committee recalls that the Convention applies to all workers without distinction, including workers who exercise an independent occupation. The Committee further recalls that in protecting workers against discrimination in employment and occupation on the basis of political opinion, the Convention implies that this protection shall be afforded to them in respect of activities expressing or demonstrating opposition to the established political principles, even if certain doctrines are aimed at fundamental changes in the institutions of the State (see 1988 General Survey on Equality in Employment and Occupation, paragraph 57, and 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraphs 733 and 805). In these circumstances, the Committee trusts that the Government will take the necessary measures to ensure that all workers, including independent journalists, are able to exercise their occupation freely and without discrimination based on political grounds, even if they express opinions contrary to the established order.

Article 2. Gender equality policy. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on measures taken to raise awareness about gender equality in employment and occupation, on complaints of discrimination in employment examined by the Office of the Prosecutor-General, and on the participation of men and women in the labour market and in education. The Committee observes that, according to data from the National Statistics and Information Office, in 2015, 37.5 per cent of the economically active population were women and 62.5 per cent were men; of the persons in employment, 37.4 per cent were women and 62.6 per cent were men; among the unemployed, 47.6 per cent were women and 60 per cent were men. The Government also reports that women account for 48.86 per cent of deputies in Parliament, 41.9 per cent of members of the Council of State and 66.6 per cent of presidents of the People’s Provincial Assemblies. The Committee nonetheless notes that, in its concluding observations, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) expressed concern at the absence of a comprehensive national plan of action to promote gender equality, the absence of a complaint mechanism to report cases of discrimination against women and the lack of effective access to justice for women (CEDAW/C/CUB/CO/7-8, 30 July 2013, paragraphs 12, 14 and 16). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the specific measures that have been taken to promote equality of opportunity and treatment for men and women in employment and occupation, including vocational training. It further requests the Government to indicate which measures have been adopted, including information and awareness-raising measures, regarding the mechanisms available to ensure that women have effective access to judicial and administrative remedies in the event of gender discrimination in employment and occupation, and to specify the remedies. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the complaints examined by the Office of the Prosecutor-General concerning discrimination in employment and occupation, specifying the grounds invoked in these cases. It further requests the Government to continue to provide statistical information on the participation of men and women in the labour market, in all sectors of the economy and in education and vocational training at all levels, and to indicate the measures taken to raise awareness about gender equality in employment and occupation.

Equality policy and other grounds of discrimination. The Committee has for several years been asking the Government to provide specific information on the measures taken to promote equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation in connection with the other grounds of discrimination listed in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. The Committee notes that according to the Government, the Office for Assistance to the Population of the Ministry of Labour and Security did not receive any complaints in this regard. The Committee observes, however, that the Government did not provide information on the measures taken under the national policy to promote equality in employment and occupation in connection with all the grounds enumerated in Article 1(1)(a) other than sex. The Committee recalls that the Convention requires the national equality policy to be clearly stated and to be effective, and points out that measures to address discrimination, in law and in practice, must be concrete and specific about all the grounds of discrimination covered by the Convention (2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 844). The Committee again requests the Government to provide information on the specific measures and plans adopted or envisaged to combat discrimination on all the grounds enumerated in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention, together with information on their effectiveness and on the results achieved (Article 3(f) of the Convention).