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collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

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Page 1: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of
Page 2: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of
Page 3: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of
Page 4: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

Page 5: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

. THE TRUTH . ABOUT . CUBA

TO THE ILO COMMITTE·E ON FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION ,

Page 6: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

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Page 7: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

U.S. imperialism has not ceased to attack the Cuban Revolution ever since it took power in Cuba and freed our country from. the colonial dependence into which it was sunk by U.S. intervention (1895-1902), initiated during the VVar of lndepe~dence when that war had practically ended and the t~iumph of the Cuban patriots was assured. It has resorted to every means at its disposal, such as armed intervention, the most inhuman eeonomic blockade, and a permanent and systematic cam­paign of slanders and lies disseminated by the news agencies it subsidizes. In this latter aspect of its aggressive plans, it n w pretends to use the Inter­national· Labor Organization and its Committee on Freedom of Association in a new attempt to confuse world public opinion. - • This time, U.S. imperialism has made use of Euse­bio Mujal Barniol, one of its most discredited lack­eys, -who assaulted the legitimate Cuban trade unions built up by the Cuban workers, and instal­led himself in the 'Workers Confederation of Cuba (CTC), of glorious tradition for its indefatigable struggles against both native and foreign oppressors,. placing it at the service of the bastard interests he represented. He took the opportunity to make of himse.lf one of the richest men in Cuba through robbery and rapine - o'WDer of a latifundium of more than 1 320 hectares in the Havana province, the best and most high-priced land in Cuba - as he was on January 1, 1959 when he shamefully absconded, terrified by the prospect of having to pay for the murders he committed against the w-orkers' leaders, and for his robberies. Using stationery with the name of the "'Workers Confederation of Cuba in Exile" (a nonexistent or­ganization), this delinquent, fugitive from. Cuban justice, whose sole objective is to continue looting the property of others - this time of the people

_of ~he J].S- ~hose government, although it squan­ders public funds on these ridiculous attempts of 5 aggression against Cuba, admits that more than 30 million of its citizens are hungry - has tried to take advantage of the credibility of the lntel"lla-

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. tiona} Labor Organization by presenting to the Committee on Freedom of Association a libel ac­cusing Cuba of supposed violations of international agreements. This accusation, from a juridical point of view and due to the number of falsehoods it contains, is necessarily unsubstantiated and therefore does not merit -a reply. Nevertheless, as this paper consti­tutes one aspect of the various means of defama­tion employed by U.S. imperialism to attack the Cuban Revolution and to create a deformed picture of the reality, this booklet - in keeping with the already w-ell-known policy of our Revolution of con­fronting energetically all attacks made against it, taking advantage of every opportunity to state the truth and nothing but t-he truth of the Cuban reality - has been prepared. In this booklet there is related some of the vandalic activities perpetrated by Mujal and his gangsters during the infamous period w-hen, by means of violence and bribery, they usurped the leadership of the glorious "Workers Confederation of Cuba. It also contains photographs that are more eloquent than w-ords. At the same time, there has been ~eluded an account of what the Cuban w-orking class has achieved once it broke the chains with which it w-as bound by imperialism and took power in Cuba.

'Washington, D.C. April 15, 1968 To the Committee on Freedom of Association (care of th6 International Labor Office, Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary

- General of the 'W' orkers Confederation of Cuba in ExUe, on behalf of, and as representative of the same, denounces before this Co~ttee, the viola­tions of the international labor agreements ratified by the Republic of Cuba, in the manner and as spe­cified in the following ~ages in relation to each of

Page 9: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

them: AgreeDtent Nos. 87, 98 and 105. 'We are leaders of the said W' orkers Confederation of Cuba that existed in our country since 1939, and that for 9 years (1939-1948), 'Was headed by Laza­ro Pefia and the ComJDunists, -whom -we defeated in 1949, being reelected in the CTC Congresses held in Havana in 1951, 1953, 1955 and 1957. Many of our leaders -were delegates for Cuba at the ILO. Therefore we are the same organization that pre­viously existed in Guba, for what remained there is not the 'Workers Confederation of Cuba, no, they have changed its entire structure, all its rights, an~ what remains there is a slave apparatus of the STATE, 'Without the slightest liberty of any kind. On the attached we give the names of the leaders elected in the last democratic Con~ess of 1957. As can be seen, most of them are now in the U.S. and remain faithful to the CTC. Therefore, it is we who are the previous CTC. Due to the breach of said agreemen-ts, 'We demand that all Cuban rights before the ILO be withdrawn. 'We remain, yours respectfully.

Eusebio Mujal Barniol Secretary General of the CTC (now) in Exile

MIAMI: 802 N:W. First Street, ·Miami., Fla. P. 0. Box 3659, Miami, Fla. 33101 Phone FR9-1955

"WASHINGTON, D.C.: P. 0. Box 19261- 20th Street Station - 'Washington, D.C.

NE'W YORK: 400 'West 43td Street - New York 36, N.Y. - Phone: LO 5-9208.

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Page 10: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

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1. Cuba rejects the complaint in aU its parts; Declares it has not violated any ~f the ILO agree-

- ments; . . Denies capacity of any kind, real, legal or moral, to the promoters to file it, and therefore considers it inadmissible by the ILO; Demands that the ILO shall reject the complaint due to the total lack of capacity of the complainants to file it. 2. The total lack of capacity, be it formal or real, legal or moral, of the complainants to file the com­plaint is determined by the following facts: First: The Workers Confederation of Cuba, found­

ed in 1939, has not been dissolved nor de­clared illegal either by administrative deci­sion of the Revolutionary Government or by a sentence of the Courts, or by any other means, but rather, after the triumph of the Revolution, and protected by the liberties it gave to the Cuban people, has continued 'Without interruption its own free develop-ment. · In result, the Workers Confederation of Cuba has held its congresses; has rene'Wed its leadership in the manner foressen in its Statutes; has operated according to the de­cisions of the authorized leading bodies, and has changed its original name to its pre_s­ent one of Workers Central Union of Cuba. It is therefore absurd to pretend that an or­ganization that has continued operating nor­mally in Cuba can have gone into ''exile'', and that noW', ten years after those 'Who ridiculously pretend to be its- leaders have fled, files the referred to complaint.

Second: The absolutely nonexistent ''Workers Con­federation of Cuba in Exile'', under -whose name the complaint is filed, has no con­nection at all 'With Cuban 'Workers or groups of w-orkers, all of -w-hom belong to their legitimate '\1\T orkers Confederation of Cuba, no-w VVorkers Central Union of Cuba, and

Page 11: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

periodically elect their leaders and represent­atives, including those -who have been re­presentatives, during the last years, before the ILO, in their regular meetings and con­gresses.

Third: Notwithstanding the unanimous repudiation of the w-orkers of Cuba, the signer of the complaint, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, aided and abetted by the repressive pow-er of the Ba­tista tyranny, occupied _the position of Se­cretary General of the CTC. He fled the "' country, together with those -who protected him, leaving behind cattle ranches, buildings, bank accounts, automobiles, yachts, and other properties that made up his large per­sonal fortune, as -well as the position of Se­cretary General of the CTC and other im­portant sources of illegal enrichment, at the very time when the Cuban workers as a whole, together w-ith their peasant brothers, students, patriotic intellectuals and all the Cuban people, confirmed to the world, by means of the historic and victorius general strike of the first days of January 1959, their monolithic and unrestricted support to the great revolutionary vanguard constituted by the glorious Rebel Army headed by our Commander-in-Chief, comrade Fidel Castro. _ The other characters who appear on the "pay-roll'' attached by Mujal took the same road for similar reasons. Some, like Raiil Valdivia, Francisco Crucet, Aldo Barrio, Ja­vier Bolanos, Facundo Pomar, Oscar Sama­lea, and others, left the country or sought asylum in foreign embassies from the· ,first days of January 1959 due to their evident complicity in the criminal policy of the Ba­tista tyranny. Others, like Balbuena, Alber­to Hernandez, etc., abided their time with the evident hope that their complicity would not be proved and they could continue be­traying the labor movement, the workers, and the country, for the benefit of U.S. im-

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Page 12: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

perialist exploiters. Eusebio Mujal, neither now nor even w-hen he w-as Secretary General of the CTC, never has represented the Cuban workers because, as is well-known, .. he could only reach that position through governmental imposition, protected by the . violent wave of police and gangster repression unleashed against the workers in 1947. Among the murdered victi.m.s of that repression are many honest trade union leaders and mil­itants, as Jesiis Menendez, Amancio Rodri­guez, Aracelio Iglesias, Jose Oviedo, Miguel Fernandez · Roig, Hector Cabrera, Manuel Montoro and Rafael Anton Lezcano. All these facts, and others too numerous to mention, clearly prove the absence of real or formal capacity, legal or moral,_ of the­compla~_nants whose purpose, exclusively political, is to serve · the campaign of lies against the Cuban Revolution for the benefit of their protectors: U.S. imperialism, the agents of Batista's overthrown tyranny, ex­ploiters of every kind, and the rest of their counterrevolutionary servants. For these .reasons the complaint is not ad­missible and must be rejected without furth­er proceedings.

3. ON THE AI.I.EGATIONS REGARDING THE SUPPOSED VIOLATION OF AGREEMEN'I' 87 RELATING TO THE FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION AND THE PROTECTION OF THE RIGHT TO JOIN A TRADE UNION

In order to justify the false assertion that Cuba has violated Article 3 of ILO Agreement 87, it is af­firmed that "Cuba's present government does the opposite'', that is, that it intervenes the labor or-

1 0 ganizations. The fact is that during its ten years of existence, neither the Revolutionary Government nor any of its administrative or ju~icial organi~ms has i~ter-

Page 13: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

vened any labor ~d enterpreneurial organizat-ions. It is also alleged, in two different places, that para­graph J of Article 7 of the Basic Law of the Ministry of Labor grants said Ministry the right t-o intervene labor and entrepreneurial organizations. The simple reading of this paragraph, and of the law as a whole, shows that the right established in said paragraph does not interfere in any "Way 'With the recognized right of the workers to join trade unions and of the labor organizations to function in accordance with their statutes and the law, for said paragraph refers only to the need of maintain­ing work centers in operation, and of guar~nteeing

. the excercise of trade union and socia_l rights. Also quoted, 'With the object of proving the false aecusation that Cuba's legislation has violated the so often mentioned Agreement 87, are Articles 54 and 55 of Law No. 1166 of 1964, as if they author­ized the dissolution of labor organizations, through administrative means, without any further appeal, either adniin.istrative or judicial. Neither in that law, nor in its Articles 54 and 55, is there any reference to the dissolution in any way of labor organizations. The faculties granted to the Minister of Labor in said Articles - as expressed in Article 1 - refer exclusively to the contro­versies that may arise between workers, and be­tween workers, and between them and management, in connection ~th the rights and duties that derive froiD. the labor and social security laws, or froiD violations of labor discipline. It is evident that neither Law 1166 as a whole, nor its Articles 54 and 55 in particular, violate or in­terfere in any way with the workers rights recog­nized in ILO Agreement 87 and in Cuban legisla­tion.

4. ON THE AIJ.EGATIONS REGARDING THE SUPPOSED VIOLATION OF ILO AGREEMENT 98 REFERRING TO THE RIGHT TO JOIN 11 TRADE UNIONS AND THE RIGHT TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

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.. cuban legislation recognizes and guarantees both rights to the workers, the right to join trade unions, and the right to collective bargaining. The complaint states that the demand contained in the first paragraph of Resolution 5619 of 1962 that every -worker or aspirant must obtain a w-ork card is contrary to these rights. Not only is this a false allegation, as are all the arguments of the complaint, but it is also absurd, for _ according to its logic, _ any requirement to pres­ent a diploma or certificate of aptitudes or quali­fications in applying for a job cotild be considered as contrary to the right to join trade unions and to the right to collective bargaining. The sole object of the requirement to have a w-ork card - no-w discontinued - in order to start to w-ork in any job, w-as to keep a record of the labor force available for the new·ly-established production and s-ervice centers that, thanks to the Revolution, are being created in our ~ountry in its dynamic process of economic development. The allegations that ''the w-orker without a 'Work card is automatically placed on the black list,'' w-hich exists only in the stupid minds of those w-ho see everything from their exploiters' point of vie-w, is laughable. In Cuba the 'Work card w-as given to ali w-ho requested it from the authorized organisms, Cuban la-ws invest the Ministry of Labor with the faculty to establish salary rates, hours of -work, vacations, and -working conditions, precisely in order to protect the -workers, and the collective bargaining contracts must provide for these regu­lations in order to insure that no W"orker receives less than he should, nor has inferior w-orking con­ditions to the rest. And these regulations have been, and alw-ays are, promulgated after discussions -with t.he -w-orkers through their trade union organiza­tions. The allegations referring to the alleged violation of ILO Agreement 105 are so baseless that they do not merit a specific reply since, in the main, they are a simple repe~ition of those -we have already

Page 15: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

answered in the foregoing paragraphs. In addition to what really constitutes an unjustified and deceitful complaint, there is included, under the title of ''Cuban "Workers Rights Abolished by the Fidel Castro Communist Misgovernment in Cuba," a chapter of new an·d even more ridiculous, cynical, and outrageous lies. Starting with its very title, this chapter of · new lies shows, even more clearly than everything said before, the sole object of the supposed complaint to serve as counterrevolutionary and anti-com-

. munist political propaganda against our ctountry and its institutions. The chapter begins by declaring, with the usual impudence of the exploiters and their lackeys, that "the Cuban workers, in general, have suffered a reduction of 63% in their incomes, which, in the case o.f the sugar workers reaches 69%.'' The assertion is ridiculous because, as is well known, the Revolution has brought about, as a logical consequence of its economic and social policy, a considerable increase in the workers real incomes and greater still, in the incomes per family nucleus. The first reason for the increase in the rea.l incomes of the workers is the total and permanent elimina­tion of chronic unemployment and sub-employment from which our country had been suffering. During the last years of the rule of the imperialists, large landowners, capitalists, and of the govern­ments that Mujal and his followers served from ~ usurped positions in the leadership of the trade union movement, there existed in Cuba chronic unemployment for more than half a million workers and sub-employment for those who worked only four or six months in the year in the seasonal sugarcane and coffee harvests, and remained idle, and therefore without income, the rest of the year. In Cuba, at present, eve1:_ · worker, indistinctively, has a guaranteed paid job t-hroughout the year thanks to the Revolution and the policy of the dynamic economic development of the Revolution­ary Government under the maximum leadership of

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' comrade Fidel Castro and of the Communist ·Party. At present a situation contrary to that w-hich 'Was common-under the imperialist latifundia-bourgeois exploitation regime is taking place in Cuba; instead of unemployment, there is a lack of labor force. Another reason is that the average 'Worker's salary has increased. In 1958, the last year of the tyranny, the average salary of the employed 'Worker w-as not over one thousand pesos a year, 'While in 196~, the average salary paid in state economic, industrial, agricultural, and service centers w-as 1 560 pesos a year per w-orker. So there has bee~ an increase of 560 pesos a year in the average salary, the high­est percentage of increase occuring in the low-est salaries of the sectors w'ith the greatest nUinbers of "Workers. In this respect, it must be pointed out that the increase in income per family is even greater than the average salary increase W'ould indicate, since, w-hile in 1958, as a rule, only the head of the family 'Worked, today, generally t'Wo, three or more members of the family 'WOrk and therefore the family has tw-o, three or more salary incomes. The increase in cash income received by the 'Work­ers can -be measured by the fact that in 1968 the salary funds 'Were double 'What they were in 1958. According to official statistics, the salary fund in 1958 amounted to 1407.5 million pesos, 'While in 1968 it rose to 2 942 million pesos; in ot-her words, in 1968, 1 535 million pesos more 'Were paid in

. salaries in comparison with the figures available for the year previous to the triumph of the Rev­olution. It must be noted that the 1968 figure refers to take-home salaries, free of taxes or deductions of any sort. In addition to the cash income from. salaries, income fro:rn pensions has also increased as the pension -minimum has been raised. The total amount of all pensions paid in 1958 w-as 105.4 million pesos, while in 1968, the amount was almost two and a half times greater: 253.3 .million pesos~ Finally, and most important, it must be taken into

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account that· in Cuba, in addition to the increase in the cash income of the workers, there also has been a rapid growth in services provided free of charge to the people, and therefore the real income of the worker is considerably higher than the nominal income. Thus:

EDUCATION IS . GRATIS AT ALL LEVELS

No one has to pay for his studies nor for his chil~ dren's studies. TJ:te public schools provide for each child, youth, or adult who wishes to study, a classroom, a teacher, books and other school. material.

·In 1968 there were 180 000 children of workers, laborers, peasants, and employees, studying under a scholarship system who receive gratis from the Statet housing, food, clothing, shoes, etc.; besides, there were 128 000 children studying on a semi­boarding basis, receiving free of charge lunches an·d snacks. In addition; we could point out as an example, that in the "Julio Antonio Mella" 'Worker-Peasant Fa­culty of the University of the West 9 179 workers study while enjoying the benefits of a student schedule (four to six hours of work per day) , which allows them to attend classes without any reduction or deduction whatever from their salaries. This figure includes only the worker-students of the provinces of Matanzas, Havana, and Pinar del Rio. It ·does not include those of Oriente, Camagiiey and Las Villas provinces, Qr the graduates from the technological institutes who work, and study at the universities.

MEDICAL AND HOSPITAL SERVICES ARE GRATIS

In order to provide this service for the entire pop- 15 . ulation in cities and towns, as well as in the coun­

tryside, large sums of money are invested by the

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-Cuban GoverDDlent. For example, in 1957 - year · pr-eceding-the overthrow of the tyranny -. - the Pub­lic Health budget 'Was 22 million pesos, 'While in 1968 (tenth year of the Revolution), it had reached 220 million pesos, that is, a tenfold increase. Dur­ing t -his same period, the number of hospitals increased from 70 to 180, the number of beds from 25 745 to 47 660. Neither the 'Worker nor his family have to pay anything for medical attention or to enter a hos­pital.

HOUSING IS FREE FOR A LARGE PART OF THE POPULATION AND IT IS FORESEEN THAT BY 1970 NO ONE WILL HAYE TO PAY RENT

Rents, until 1958, absorbed a large part of the 'Workers' salaries, sometimes as much as 30%. One of the first social laws of the Revolution w-as to lo_wer rents up to 50%. At present, those -who still pay rent, do not pay more than 10% of the income of the head of the family, which results in a corres­ponding increase in the workers' incomes, thus becoming freed, or considerably freed, from the heavy rent burden.

CHILDREN'S NURSERIES ARE GRATIS

Working mot-hers daily take their children· to these nurseries from the time they are a few months old until they are old enough to enter pre-primary school. They receive gratis, food an·d care during the day. Although there are still not enough nurseries t-o admit all the children "Who need them, they are constantly being increased in number.

WATER SUPPLY~ MINOR PLUMBING AND SANITATION REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE ARE GRATIS FUNERAL AND BURIAL SERVICES ARE GRATIS

Before the Revolution, due to the high cost of these services, it w-as common for work centers to take up

Page 19: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

collections to pay for the funeral and burial serVices of the comrade who had died.

PUBLIC TELEPHONES ARE FREE AD•MISSION TO SPORTS EVENTS IS GRATIS ALL 'WORKERS HAVE FREE ACCESS TO THE SOCIAL CENTERS AND ENJOY THEIR FACILITIES GRATIS

These are evident and freely verifiable facts, in con­trast to the ridiculous statement that the workers have suffered a reduction in their .incomes under the Revolution in comparison to those existing under the tyranny. Even more· ridiculous is the statement-. made by ~he complainants- that the workers in the sugar industry have suf.fered an even greater reduction in comparison with their incomes under the regime of exploitation, unemployment and misery that existed · until the year 1958. ... · The sugar industry workers, who previously suffered more rigorous cyclical unemployment than any other workers, have seen themselves from sub-em­ployment and other misfortunes thanks only to the Rev.olution. Now the sugarcane agricultural workers have work the year round on the state farms and other agricul­tural enterprises. The workers in the sugar mills are also guaranteed year-round employment. The salary rates of the industrial workers, as well as of the sugarcane agricultural workers, the .latter to a greater degree, have been considerably increas­ed and they no longer have to depend on the price of sugar on the international market as previously, which gave rise to the struggles for the . so called sugar differential and the so called compensation . for increased productivity. The excessively low price

. of sugar on the international market of the last years has not · af.fected either the salaries of the Cuban sugar workers or their employment. _ 17 The sugar workers' increased income can be seen in the stati~tics of the total sum of annual salaries

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which show a practically steady yearly rate of in­crease since the triumph of the Revolution In 1958, total salaries paid in sugarcane production, agricultural as well as industrial, was 272.1 million pesos, while in 1968 it increased to 481 million pe­sos. That is, the workers employed in sugarcane production in 1968 earned 208.9 million pesos more than in 1958. If w-e consider the industrial and the agricultural sectors separately, for the former in 1958 'We have a total of 89.5 million pesos, and 161.5 million pesos in 1968; in other wor-ds, in 1968 the sugarcane in­dustrial workers earned 72 million pesos more than in 1958. · In the agricultural sector, the total sum. of salaries in 1958 was 182.6 million pesos, and in 1968, 320 million pesos, that is, in 1968 the sugarcane agricul­tural workers earned 137.4 million pesos more than in 1958. The true facts, and the statistics which reflect them only in part, destroy the foolish lie that the salaries of the Cuban sugarcane w-orkers have been reduced by the Revolution 'When, as can be seen, th~y have increased considerably. · After the triffling declarations already answered by us in previous pages, the complainant .hypocrites present a list of certain labor gains -which have been supposedly or actually abolished by the Revolution.. The real gains among those listed by the com­plainants w-ere w-on wit.hout their participation. In fact, starting with 1947-48 they "Were trampled and infringed upon, when those w-ho noW' allege their abolishment - aided by the police and the govern­mental armed gangsters - assaulted the trade unions and installed themselves in. this fascist manner as. ''leader~'' of the Workers Confederation of Cuba. · They make the charge, for example, that the nine-

8 day sick pay provision had been ''abolished''. As a matter of fact, that provision W'as abolished, o y to e replaced on March 27, 1963 y So'?· a

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Security Law 1100, which, in the ILO report to the Vlli Conference o~ American Member States, was described as "one of the m.ost advanced social security laws". ·

· This l~w- establishes sick benefits for all agricultu­ral, industrial and service workers throughout the

_country. The sick benefits provide for cash payJD.ent as well

· as m.edical and other services to all workers who become ill or suf;fer an accident. These services are provided for the full period required by the worker for recovery up to one year, or up to retirement, in those cases in which the worker is totally inca­pacitated. Instead of the nine-day sick pay, the worker recei­ves, for a period of up to one year, 40% of his salary if hospitalized, and 50% if not. Resolution 270 of 1968 increased this benefit for vanguard workers, who, in case of illness or accident, receive

. full salary. In addition, said law provides that any worker whose working capacity is reduced, shall be re­situated in- a job for which he is fitted, retaining his last salary. . In this way the Revolution "abolished" the "nine­day sick pay provision''. About other alleg-ed abolishments, such as manual . paid vacations - now a reality for all workers thanks to the Revolution - paid holiday and na­tional days of mourning - at present in effect throughout the country - there is no need to make any comment, for they are in fact baseless. VV orthy of comment, however, is the allegation referFed to by the complainants about the abolish-

_ment of overtime pay. As a matter of f~Ct, not only has the time and a quarter, time and :a half, and double time pay been abolished, but payment for ~xtra hours as a whole has been abolished. However, this has not been decreed by the governinent or 19 by any of its administrative bodies. It is the workers themselves who iri.dividually have rejected payn1ent for the extra hours which they at times have to

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w-ork. They do this on a voluntary basis, &'Ware that their work no longer enriches an exploiter, foreign or do,.JDestic, big or small, but rather that lhey are wotaldng for· their o'WD. benefit in order to accelerate the economic developn1ent which 'Will bring theiD even greater advantages than those already obtained; which 'Will bring them the ever­laSting abundance of goods; w-hich 'Will make a ­reality, for ali without exception, the 7 -hour or less work day. The rejection of overtime pays is a per­sonal decision n1.ade by each worker individually. Sotne have not yet taken this step, but the fact t -hat the immense m.ajority has done so, is proof

. of the high level of awareness attained by ou~ people .

. -One thing the cotnplainants do not mention is the abolislunent __ of all taxes on ·salary. According to them., these tax deductions were increased by the Revolution by 91h% compared to those made during _ the tyrany. The fact is that the Revolution abolished all deductions, and ~he salary figures given above correspond to net salaries paid to the workers, free of taxes and all deductions whatsoever. Neit:JJ,er do they refer to soJne other abo_lislun.ent n1ade by the Revolution, and which are the ones that really exasperate them. The Revolution abolished the right of the imperia­lists, the large landowners, and the capitalists, to exploit t-he workers and peasants, i.e. it abolished the exploitation of man by man. The Revolution abolished the power of the exploiters $Dd established the power of the workers, of the previously humble, of th~ laborers and the pea­sants. The Revolution abolished the right of the U._S. iln.-

. perialists to loot our country and to rule it through its lackeys.

The · Revolution abolished the repr~ssive forces of the tyranny and their tortures, abuses and depreda­tions against the workers, -whom it armed so that they co~ld protect themselves fonn their enemies. r.rhe Revolution abolished the right to imperialist,

Page 23: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

1a • • , and bourgeois property, and estltb·--·--the social ownership of the entire peop e of means of production. · The Revolution abolished the possibilities for e ailventurers, fugi ·ves, ahd traitors, to take by force leading positions in the trade UDJ.OD IDOVeDleD:t, •nd to thrive and to enrich themselves at the e&pease of the 'Workers. I esta lished the right of the ork­ers to ~ their organizatioDS for the fulfi.lhneu:t of the great historical goals .of national and social liberation. The Revo ution abolished the sys~m of bourgeois lies; established the tru' and gave the people of Cuba the opportunity to expzess their pa • • aDd internationalisDl, their solidarity with 'Who struggle against bnperialisJn, and for a better, tnore human, socialist, cornJDunist, society. These are so1ne of tlie abolisliJnents not DleD • oned by the coDlp1ainants, which in fact are aetual and true reason for their hatred for the Revo tion, Dl&de evident in the paper sent to the ILO. Out ol respect for · organization, we have prepared • reply, for the o~nplainants are so conteDlptib e they Dleri.t none.

June ·1969·- Year of the Decisive Effort

21

Page 24: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

I

Frequent scenes. Henchmen assaulting trade unions u cler l"he orders ot- Eusebio Mujal so that he coulcf, once in control.

••detnocratically elect" himself.••

Page 25: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

Mujal, Suri Castillo, and Tony Varona, the then Minister of Labor, on their way to take over and close down the news­

paper Hoy, property of the Cuban wo·rkers ..

Page 26: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

Condition of the linotypes of the -:tewspaper Hoy after the assault by Mujal and his gang.

Page 27: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

Mujal, gleeful, after carrying out' his assault and destruction of the 'Workers• spokesman.

Page 28: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

Mujal, Marcos lrigoyen, a"d other gangsters, reaching an agreement lMith Batista's Minister of Labor in one of their

numerous schemes against the workers.

Page 29: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

Right after the treacherous coup of March 1 0. 1952. MujaJ makes common cause witla the tyrant Batista.

Page 30: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

Mujal and his clique - today all in exile - are given pos­session of the CTC building by Batista's Minister of Labor.

Page 31: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

..

Mujal benefits from his treason. Entrance gate to his fabulous 1 320 hectares latifundium ,in Havana province.

Page 32: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

lnstallatipns in huge fann of the opulent Mu)al.

Page 33: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

Purebred h'"ogs at Mujal's farm.

Page 34: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

Power plant installed at Mujal's "Finca Margarita", with capacity to produce eJect'ricity for a whole town, while the

majority of Cubans had never seen an electric bulb.

Page 35: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

Triumph of the armed rebellion. The victorious .. Rebel Army . · enters the capital of Cuba.

Page 36: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

After the triumph of the Rebellion the workers pour into the streets to demand that revolutionary justice be applied to

the murderer Mujal.

Page 37: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

-· :2 a Ul ..

c 3 ,~ ::r _ ... Ut ft)

cr "'tolfll a-.. = ~ b ! / ~ .~

! : Confcdcracion de T rahajadorcs de .Cuba en C1 Exilio : E' ( C l C c 11 e I [ x i I i o) ~ 3

g.r Workers Confederation of Cuba in Exile • (,Q :2

a=' (CTC in Exile) :2

aJ (FundadJra de ORIT v CIOSL) (Founders Of OR IT and ICFTU) a a u:.-

.. .... :r . ::, (I)

~ C: I :;.; (.., ~~ . . ...

P.O. Oox 19261 ~ 20th St. Station, Washington, D.C •

Page 38: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

A new stage begins for the Cuban workers: complete liberty. Fidel, in the auditorium of the CTC building, explains the

revolutionary plans to the workers.

Page 39: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

The Heroic Guerrilla, Major Ernesto Che Guevara, cutting cane. _

Page 40: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

Dr. Osvoldo Dorti!:os, President of the voluntary work.

Republic, doing

Page 41: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

Major Fidel Cast'ro~ Prime Minister, doing agricultural work.

Page 42: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

The people in the sugarcane fields~ following the example of their leaders~ do voluntary work.

Page 43: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

Victorious army of voluntary cane cutters.

Page 44: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

Peasant housing in Cuba~ a result of the rapacious exploita­tion and the encl!ess looting of the people's money carried

out by Mujal _ and his henchmen.

Page 45: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

A new town in Cuba. The nation's resources are invested for the benefit of those who create them with their work: THE CUBAN PEOPLE. These completely fumishecl houses are

provided entirely gratis.

Page 46: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

Before the Revolution, this exdusive beach resort was acces­sible only to the exploiting class. Naw it is enjoyed by its

new owners: THE CUBAN WORKERS.

Page 47: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

The greatest concern ·of the Revolution: the Cuban children who now enjoy gratis one of the achievements of the

Revolution; the nurseries.

Page 48: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

,

Page 49: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

Este tftulo se termin6 de imprimir en el mes de junio de 1969, .. Aiio d"el Esfuerzo Decisivo.. en Ia Unidad de Producci6n 0 I, .. Osvaldo S'nchez" del lnstituto del Libro, La Habana, Cuba.

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.. f

·-•

Page 51: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of

,

Page 52: collections.mun.cacollections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/TheTruthAboutCubaToTheILOCom… · Geneva, Switzerland) Gentlemen: The undersigned, Eusebio Mujal Barniol, Secretary -General of