Cuba and China to expand trade union cooperation

HAVANA, Cuba, Jul 2 (ACN) The Confederation of Cuban Workers (CTC) and the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (Acftu) will expand union cooperation and strengthen existing ties of friendship between the two organizations.

Ulises Guilarte and Li Yufu, top trade union leaders from Cuba and China, respectively, signed the memorandum of understanding, according to a report from Beijing today by Prensa Latina.
Guilarte said that the document seeks to achieve the socialization of the norms, laws and regulatory framework in which union work is carried out through visits by leaders or the exchange of delegations from different structures.
The idea is to visualize the practical work of the workers' groups during tours of factories, educational units, universities and agricultural centers, said the Caribbean leader.
The memorandum contemplates bringing together positions and consensus in forums such as the International Labor Organization to defend and articulate a platform for action at the national, regional and global levels and to confront the neoliberal offensive.
Guilarte emphasized that it is a question of fighting against phenomena such as the precariousness of employment and underemployment, the absence of social benefits for pregnant women and the refusal of private companies to allow the plants to organize and negotiate collectively.
The document signed between the CTC and the Acftu foresees trips by trade union leaders from economic sectors where there is great bilateral cooperation, such as energy, since China is building bioelectric plants and solar power stations in Cuba and advises on oil drilling and extraction.
Another important point will be the support of the Chinese guild in the modernization of the communications infrastructure of its Cuban counterpart, which should result in the donation of 300 computers.
It also provides for the transmission of experiences on the protection of labor rights in the private sector, as Cuba promotes self-employment and non-agricultural cooperatives, areas in which 29 per cent of the working population participate.
The signing of the memorandum was part of a meeting where Guilarte also presented Li with the Medal of Friendship, a high decoration awarded by the Cuban Council of State in recognition of Acftu's solidarity.
This activity opened up the agenda of the Caribbean leader in China, where he will also hold talks with senior Chinese officials such as Song Tao, head of the International Relations Department of the Communist Party, and Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of this political force.