Why approve a new Labor Code? Some ask. Why do we need new legislation regarding labor? Starting this Monday and continuing through November, the draft Labor Code will be consulted among the more than 4,000 grassroots organizations of the CTC (Confederation of Workers' Commissions) in order to enrich the legal framework in line with the demands of the changes that have taken place in recent years in the Cuban labor market.
Cuba needs a regulation that defines labor in the country and grants both employers and workers more rights and guarantees, as proposed by the campaign slogan.
The consultation, which, according to Osnay Miguel Colina Rodríguez, member of the Central Committee and president of the Organizing Committee of the 22nd Congress, is being developed as part of the organic process of this event, is an opportunity for the CTC to make an appearance in state and private groups with the legal tools and knowledge that has come from the widespread dissemination of the Code .
This will allow, he said, not only to conduct a consultation but also to participate and have a voice and vote in decision-making, since more than 2,000,000 workers will be consulted in some 50,000 meetings that have been planned so that all criteria, concerns, and requests for additions, omissions, or changes to the proposed draft are duly addressed.
The "pilot" consultation held in Pinar del Río to demonstrate the methodology to be followed in the process was with employees of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (FCSH). Dr. Alie Pérez Veliz, Dean, explained why the Labor Code's substitution (replacing one law for another) is necessary.
He specified that among the influencing factors is that the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba, proclaimed on April 10, 2019, regulates aspects related to labor law and social security, the content of which impacts current labor legislation on these matters.
In addition, the updated Cuban economic model and the Guidelines for the Economic and Social Policy of the Party and the Revolution, revisited at the Eighth Congress of the PCC , promote a change in public policies regarding labor and security.“
In Pinar del Río, a total of 2,197 meetings will be held during the consultation process for the draft Labor Code, with the participation of approximately 133,000 state workers, new entrants into the economy, and non-unionized workers.
For its part, the implementation of the programs and projects of the Human Development, Equity, and Social Justice Macro Program results in new concepts, definitions, labor regulations, and important legislative changes, among other aspects.
Other recently approved policies also require an updated code, including the Policy on Child, Adolescent, and Youth Care and its Action Plan, aimed at addressing the main demands and challenges facing their comprehensive development; the Policy for Addressing Demographic Dynamics and Population Aging and its implementation; the National Program for the Advancement of Women, approved by Presidential Decree 198 of February 20, 2021, as well as the amendments approved by Law 141 of the Code of Procedures of October 28, 2021.
The dean added that the results of a study of Comparative Law in countries such as Germany, Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, El Salvador, Spain, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, Venezuela, China and Vietnam are integrated .
Cuba also has outdated labor legislation, with Law No. 116 of 2013, the Labor Code, approved on December 20, 2013, and Decree 326 of June 12, 2014.
This need to update the standard is influenced by the international commitments made with the International Labour Organization and other international organizations, contained in treaties, conventions, agreements, pacts and protocols, as specified by the professor.
The dispersion of legislation regarding labor and social security, its outdated nature, and the lack of integration require the Code to be revisited to make it more similar to the current labor market.
News
While the Code is a comprehensive text, with a structure comprising four books, 20 titles, 69 chapters, 525 articles, 10 special provisions, 12 transitional provisions, and six final provisions,
its information is organized in a way that makes it easy to read. You can also read it on digital platforms, and you can even consult it and submit your comments by return mail.
However, several media outlets and educational institutions such as the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) and the CTC (Central University of Puerto Rico) have compiled a summary of the most significant changes or innovations proposed by the new regulation, which Guerrillero shares with readers below:
Workers' access to judicial remedies once administrative remedies have been exhausted.
The term “working people” is incorporated.
Recognizes independent work.
Promotion of decent work.
Raise the legal capacity to enter into employment relationships from 17 to 18 years of age.
Prohibits the use of fixed-term contracts in permanent activities.
Priorities have been more clearly defined, including those in vulnerable situations.
The prohibition of forced labor.
Prohibition of child labor.
Prohibition of all forms of discrimination, violence or harassment in the workplace.
No employer may make the hiring, retention, or promotion of a woman conditional on her pregnancy, nor terminate the employment relationship for that reason.
The right to safety and health at work is improved.
Administrations may determine the termination of employment of a worker for economic, technological, or structural reasons, but "following an assessment by the governing body
and in mutual agreement with the trade union organization."
The “available worker” status and temporary relocation are eliminated.
Employers—except those in the budgeted sector—must take out insurance to protect their employees' incomes in the event of interruptions, cessation, dissolution, or cancellation of MSMEs, as well as temporary suspensions of activity.
Right to digital disconnection outside of working hours and the exercise of reversibility.
The administration must ensure safe conditions at the location where remote work is performed, while the worker agrees on the schedule with their employer and has the right to disconnect outside of that time.
Possibility of teleworking from abroad, provided the employer deems it appropriate and the conditions of the position allow it.
The placement of graduates is decentralized to territorial governments.
Training is endorsed as a right.
Early assignment of higher education students and mid-level technicians.
Expands the possibilities for legal claims.
Labor disputes in the self-employed sector will be resolved through the courts, while in the state sector the system of labor justice bodies will be maintained.
The period of permission to travel abroad is extended or postponed for up to one year.
Unpaid leave is a worker's right, and as such, its authorization will no longer be a discretionary power of the administration.
The self-employed worker emerges; he is a TCP without subordinates to an employer and without another person under his dependence.
The standard defines what negligence is.
Paid leave is authorized for the caregiver.
An APK application will be created to search for jobs on computing platforms.
The term "demonstrated suitability" is replaced by "demonstrated ability" for incorporation into employment.
Guidelines are defined for employers to follow to ensure access, mobility, and development for people with disabilities.
Guarantees of diversity inclusion and reasonable accommodations for access to employment, training, and promotion, with tax incentives for employers who comply with them.
The working day for those who engage in multiple employment may not exceed 13 hours per day, combining a full-time and part-time shift, but not exceeding five hours.
Mandatory payment of unemployment insurance by employers (except for budgeted entities) to protect workers' income in the event of a work interruption.
Social service is reduced from three years in the state sector to two years, which can be in the state sector or in the non-state sector through an agreement.
The terms workplace harassment, sexual harassment, and gender-based violence are incorporated as prohibited terms in the workplace.
Upon receiving the commitment of the Pinar del Río union movement on the occasion of Fidel's centenary from Rubén Lloga Sixto, secretary of the CTC in the province, Colina Rodríguez stated that if people read and study the draft bill, it won't be a formal act, "because we would be appropriating the legal norm in the same way we form our opinions. And if we can ensure that every Cuban worker who has an opinion, who has a proposal, has the space to do so, we will be forging ahead together. We will be ensuring that it truly is a broad consultation process, that workers have active, proactive, and decisive participation . "
rainpizza in cuba
The new draft Labor Code will be consulted among the more than 4,000 grassroots organizations of the CTC (Confederation of Workers' Commissions)
https://giron.cu/2025/09/16/un-proceso-construccion-colectiva/https://archive.ph/S2mGO
Why approve a new Labor Code? Some ask. Why do we need new legislation regarding labor? Starting this Monday and continuing through November, the draft Labor Code will be consulted among the more than 4,000 grassroots organizations of the CTC (Confederation of Workers' Commissions) in order to enrich the legal framework in line with the demands of the changes that have taken place in recent years in the Cuban labor market. Cuba needs a regulation that defines labor in the country and grants both employers and workers more rights and guarantees, as proposed by the campaign slogan.
The consultation, which, according to Osnay Miguel Colina Rodríguez, member of the Central Committee and president of the Organizing Committee of the 22nd Congress, is being developed as part of the organic process of this event, is an opportunity for the CTC to make an appearance in state and private groups with the legal tools and knowledge that has come from the widespread dissemination of the Code .
This will allow, he said, not only to conduct a consultation but also to participate and have a voice and vote in decision-making, since more than 2,000,000 workers will be consulted in some 50,000 meetings that have been planned so that all criteria, concerns, and requests for additions, omissions, or changes to the proposed draft are duly addressed.
The "pilot" consultation held in Pinar del Río to demonstrate the methodology to be followed in the process was with employees of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (FCSH). Dr. Alie Pérez Veliz, Dean, explained why the Labor Code's substitution (replacing one law for another) is necessary.
He specified that among the influencing factors is that the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba, proclaimed on April 10, 2019, regulates aspects related to labor law and social security, the content of which impacts current labor legislation on these matters. In addition, the updated Cuban economic model and the Guidelines for the Economic and Social Policy of the Party and the Revolution, revisited at the Eighth Congress of the PCC , promote a change in public policies regarding labor and security.“
In Pinar del Río, a total of 2,197 meetings will be held during the consultation process for the draft Labor Code, with the participation of approximately 133,000 state workers, new entrants into the economy, and non-unionized workers.
For its part, the implementation of the programs and projects of the Human Development, Equity, and Social Justice Macro Program results in new concepts, definitions, labor regulations, and important legislative changes, among other aspects.
Other recently approved policies also require an updated code, including the Policy on Child, Adolescent, and Youth Care and its Action Plan, aimed at addressing the main demands and challenges facing their comprehensive development; the Policy for Addressing Demographic Dynamics and Population Aging and its implementation; the National Program for the Advancement of Women, approved by Presidential Decree 198 of February 20, 2021, as well as the amendments approved by Law 141 of the Code of Procedures of October 28, 2021.
The dean added that the results of a study of Comparative Law in countries such as Germany, Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, El Salvador, Spain, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, Venezuela, China and Vietnam are integrated .
Cuba also has outdated labor legislation, with Law No. 116 of 2013, the Labor Code, approved on December 20, 2013, and Decree 326 of June 12, 2014.
This need to update the standard is influenced by the international commitments made with the International Labour Organization and other international organizations, contained in treaties, conventions, agreements, pacts and protocols, as specified by the professor. The dispersion of legislation regarding labor and social security, its outdated nature, and the lack of integration require the Code to be revisited to make it more similar to the current labor market.
News
While the Code is a comprehensive text, with a structure comprising four books, 20 titles, 69 chapters, 525 articles, 10 special provisions, 12 transitional provisions, and six final provisions, its information is organized in a way that makes it easy to read. You can also read it on digital platforms, and you can even consult it and submit your comments by return mail.
However, several media outlets and educational institutions such as the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) and the CTC (Central University of Puerto Rico) have compiled a summary of the most significant changes or innovations proposed by the new regulation, which Guerrillero shares with readers below:
Upon receiving the commitment of the Pinar del Río union movement on the occasion of Fidel's centenary from Rubén Lloga Sixto, secretary of the CTC in the province, Colina Rodríguez stated that if people read and study the draft bill, it won't be a formal act, "because we would be appropriating the legal norm in the same way we form our opinions. And if we can ensure that every Cuban worker who has an opinion, who has a proposal, has the space to do so, we will be forging ahead together. We will be ensuring that it truly is a broad consultation process, that workers have active, proactive, and decisive participation . "