Very early in the morning, a smiling Isdalis welcomed us to her office at the CTC. Although she had worked late into the night the day before, she showed no signs of fatigue; on the contrary, her usual energy and passion when talking about workers’ issues were present in the dialogue.
Before answering the questions, she gave us an update on the progress of the organic process of the 22nd Congress: up to this point, 96 municipal conferences have been held, and those that are still pending will be held this month; the provinces of Pinar del Río and Guantánamo have completed their implementation, and the provinces of Ciego de Avila, Holguín and Matanzas are in the process of completing theirs. The election of the 90 direct delegates has already begun.
How was the purpose of revitalizing the economy and eliminating distortions expressed in these meetings? To what extent did the proposals go beyond describing the problems and become concrete proposals?
«At each stage of the plan, we have proposed an exercise of deep, critical and proactive reflection and debate that legitimizes the participation of affiliates in the construction of consensus, on the need to find solutions to the difficulties the country is going through and the loss of purchasing power of wages. At the same time, to strengthen the union leadership in the mission of defending the rights of workers, in order to make their mobilization more effective in promoting our development programs.
«Taking into account the decentralization of the powers of the socialist state enterprise to give it greater autonomy, the workers have analyzed how to increase the level of activity of the units affected by the restrictions of the blockade and the lack of foreign currency. They themselves have suggested how much more can be done if the diversification of the corporate purpose is achieved, which will allow them to gain in efficiency. Another way to achieve this is through the consistent application of Decree 87, which gives the company the power to determine the organization of salaries and the rules for the distribution of profits, where there are still dissatisfactions that have come to light in the conferences, since in many companies the highest salaries are not received by those who are directly linked to production. If correctly applied, it is possible to evaluate who in the economy contributes the most.
«One weakness identified in these analyses is the low level of unionization in the non-state sector, which reaches only 21.2 percent. The solution to this problem lies in the workers’ demand for better prepared union leaders who have mastered the new regulations for these forms of management. With better preparation, union members in each sector will have greater capacity for representation, can participate in management councils with proposals that benefit the collective, and can demand that management respond to each proposal in a timely manner. The proposal made at the conferences should contribute to this: to save the union schools.
«The common denominator of the conferences was to ensure that the general secretary of the union section is a leader in the workplace who, together with management and other factors, seeks alternatives to the existing labor problems based on the situation the country is going through in terms of food, resources, electricity…
«One issue that has emerged strongly, and in which the organization is demanding, is that each workers’ collective can have a small piece of land to plant crops that will improve the supply of the workers’ dining rooms and will manage to sell them to the workers at reasonable prices.
«No less important were the concerns expressed in the meetings that the union should supervise the execution of the budget, ensure the provision of the means of protection required by the workers, intervene in health and safety in the workplace, guarantee the quality of the conduct of the members’ assemblies and influence the proper accountability of the employer, strengthen the political-ideological work by giving priority to personal contact, take care of retirees to make use of their experience and increase their recognition, and achieve the effective participation of aniristas in the repair and maintenance of machinery, among other commitments.
«Likewise, the active participation of the trade union organization in the compliance with the rules of the internal control system and the workers’ guard for the protection of resources was also demanded, in addition to confronting, from the labor collective, any manifestation of indiscipline, corruption and illegalities.
«On the subject of bankarization, it was proposed to collect union dues and the Contribution to the Homeland through digital platforms, which should be evaluated because the conditions do not exist in all regions and there have been failures to comply with the payment dates with the subsequent disagreement of the workers.
«These were, among many others, the suggestions made during the process.»
The National Commission has already begun to analyze the bylaws. What changes are planned?
«Some of them have been carried out in practice, such as managing, from the labor collectives, an effective and conscious participation of the workers in the processes of planning, regulation, management and control of the economy of their units, in the general assembly of affiliates and workers, in the administrative accountability, as appropriate, and what is agreed in the collective agreement.
«To participate actively in the preparation of the draft economic plan and budget and in the systematic evaluation of its implementation.
«In agreement with the employer, they must approve the organization of the salary system and the remuneration for work in the business system, as well as appoint workers of recognized prestige to integrate the board of directors of each entity.
«The principle is introduced in the Statute that the income of workers, including the heads of the units of the business system, should be in accordance with the degree of complexity and responsibility, the wealth created, the results, the work contributed and the individual contribution.
«Another thing is to organize the socialist emulation -which has been requested in the Conferences to revive it- according to the characteristics of each entity and to agree with the employers the materialization of the recognition, moral and material stimulation of the workers and collectives that stand out the most, as well as the implementation of the System of Honorary Titles and Decorations of the Republic of Cuba».
How would you summarize the challenges facing the trade union organization in the run-up to the 22nd Congress?
«The fundamental challenges of the organization are how, in the midst of the difficulties faced by the country and the changes in the labor scenario, to influence the labor collectives to increase their level of activity; internally, to improve the functioning of the organization in order to represent the workers more effectively and to be more demanding with the employers, with the aim of resolving or responding to their proposals; to insist on the unionization of the non-state sector in view of its growth and diversification; and to contribute to strengthening the role of the socialist state enterprise as a protagonist of the Cuban economic development model.
