CUBA: FREE LABOR SURVEY SHOWS DISILLUSIONMENT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HAVANA 000548 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB PHUM ECON CU SUBJECT: CUBA: FREE LABOR SURVEY SHOWS DISILLUSIONMENT REF: HAVANA 391 HAVANA 00000548 001.3 OF 002 SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED; HANDLE ACCORDINGLY ¶1. (SBU) Independent labor leaders Carmelo Diaz and Aurelio Bachiller carried out a survey during April and May to measure the acceptance and impact of Labor Resolutions 187 and 188, which went into effect on April 2. These were originally announced by the Council of Ministers last Fall, aimed at increasing productivity and discipline in the workplace. As we reported reftel, the main thrust was on the discipline side, without sufficient associated measures in, for example, the transport sector, to enable employees to get to work on time. Implementation was first set for January 1, but then pushed back three months for many reasons, including incomplete preparation and some examples of pushback from within the official communist-run trade confederation (CTC). Paragraph two is an unofficial translation of the results of this survey. ¶2. (SBU) Havana, 23 May, 2007 Results of the National Survey regarding Resolutions 187 and 188 from the Ministry of Labor and Social Security. 1,552 Cuban workers were surveyed from the provinces of Pinar del Rio, Havana, Havana City, Isle of Youth, Cienfuegos, Ciego de Avila, Camaguey, Holguin, Las Tunas, and Santiago, with the aim of eliciting the true sentiments of our workers regarding these Resolutions and other related issues. The survey includes responses to nine questions. One of the 1552 was nullified because it was filled out incorrectly (explaining why the numbers add up to 99.9 percent): 1) Q: Do you know about Resolutions 187 and 188 from the Ministry of Labor? A: Yes 28.6 percent No 62.3 percent Partially 8.9 percent 2) Q: Can public transportation be depended upon to get you to work on time? A: No 99.9 percent 3) Q: Do quality and efficiency of work correlate to the salary paid where you work? A: No 99.9 percent 4) Q: Are the economic needs of your family taken care of by the salary you earn? A: No 99.9 percent 5) Q: Do you agree with the idea of GOC-provided incentives, in the form of additional payments in hard currency and packages of personal grooming articles, in exchange for political participation and support for the "Battle of Ideas?" A: No 99.9 percent 6) Q: Does your boss use state-provided transportation or other state property for his own personal use? A: Yes 80.01 percent No 19.98 percent 7) Q: Do you agree that a worker should be fired for carrying out activities at the workplace in defense of labor and human rights? A: No 99.9 percent 8) Q: Do you believe that political activities and mobilizations interfere with work? HAVANA 00000548 002.3 OF 002 A: Yes 93.7 percent No 6.2 percent 9) Q: What role should Cuban labor unions play with regard to the Resolutions? A: Support fully 0 percent Seek changes 25.98 percent Reject them 74.01 percent. Resolutions 187-188, promulgated on April 1, do not allow for the possibility of real, objective labor freedom, since the GOC explicitly prohibits independent trade unions and requires that all Cuban workers affiliate with the CTC. The GOC controls the labor market and decides salaries and conditions of work; Resolutions 187-188 do not allow for the right to strike; according to the GOC there is no need to call for strikes since the official labor federation's grievances are always guaranteed to be heard by the authorities. The GOC blocks any attempt to form independent labor unions, quashing any attempt to express the true wishes of Cuban workers. This survey was carried out with absolute discretion, since any worker discovered participating could have been fired from his job. ¶3. (SBU) Comment: Diaz and Bachiller told us they did not limit the survey to members of the independent labor federation (CONIC) that they lead, but rather to random members of the workforce all over the island. That said, we would expect that dissident voices make up a larger segment of the survey than they do in the general population. The questions in the survey also reflect CONIC's bias against the GOC. Nonetheless, they confirm our previous assumptions about the ineffectiveness and unpopularity of the labor measures thus far. It is not a mystery even to the GOC that large majorities of Cubans are dissatisfied with the public transportation system or with low salaries. In a May 31 "Granma" article, Labor Minister Alfredo Morales Cartaya spoke about the continuing transport problem and unevenness of application of the labor measures throughout the country. He admitted that the GOC has not done a good job of disseminating the message to workers. The labor minister said this in the spirit of "We're the GOC and we're here to help," which is hardly the case. Our view, consistent with the survey, is that the GOC uses working conditions, labor unions and new labor laws as means of control. PARMLY