It is time for collective labor agreements.

If, some time ago, the Collective Labor Agreement had been used correctly at the Matanzas Municipal Commerce Company, three of its employees would not have had to appeal to the Municipal People’s Court, after being sanctioned by its administration and the Labor Justice Body ruled against them, in blatant disregard of the regulatory requirements on demonstrated suitability.

On the other hand, they did not know that their salvation lay in the letters of this document. Incredibly, neither the sanctioned nor the sanctioning parties were aware of it. It was enough to dust off the document, to read it.

In spite of its importance, of being the Magna Carta of workplaces, thecolective labor agreement continues to be downplayed, and this is not good for employers, much less for employees.

«The legal instrument must be given full priority», says Taimy Martínez Domínguez, head of the Labor and Social Affairs Department of the Cuban Trade Union Confederation in Matanzas.

For the leader, there is still no full awareness of the relevance of the spoken document, and this reiterates the strategic idea of training union cadres so that they can show the affiliates the usefulness of the legal norm, called to contextualize what is legislated in labor matters in each business or budgeted entity.

In the office he occupies together with the official Camilo Pérez at the CTC headquarters, on Milanés Street, between Dos de Mayo and Manzaneda, Martínez pondered as significant moments the indications arrived from the superior organism in January and then, in April, the signing between the national unions and the mysteries of the General Guidelines for collective bargaining.

«The objective is to achieve quality in the collective labor agreements, and that they more than satisfy the function of bringing all the parties involved in the production process or services into agreement so that they can efficiently fulfill their social purpose,» said Martínez.

To achieve this and sign the documents in July, he said, the first strategic phases must be overcome, such as the elaboration of diagnoses, the creation of an objective bank of problems, coherent with the issues that affect or concern the employees.

The other thing, he said, is to succeed in drawing up a good draft of the CCT, which will then undergo exhaustive examination by the assembly of members and workers, so that it can be corrected or enriched.

Camilo Perez referred to the challenge of the Union and the employers so that in it appear essential topics such as the elaboration and approval of the economic-financial plan, stimulating payment systems, the destination of the profits and their distribution, payment for high performance, or issues such as performance evaluation, remote work, Safety and Health at Work….

According to Martinez’s criteria, this would only materialize with good negotiating commissions. «That is why we have concentrated our efforts in this direction. Insisting on the inclusion in the union part of knowledgeable colleagues, with the capacity to interpret legal norms, who are apt for the analysis, the real discussion, so that the negotiation does not become a formal act», he remarked.

She referred to the role played by a multidisciplinary group, including members of the provincial branch of the National Association of Economists and Accountants and CTC training personnel, who advise and visit the labor collectives.

Written by Eva Luna Acosta Arminán.