Cuban workers face deadly working conditions, and they’re not allowed to speak out

Although Cuba’s communist Castro dictatorship is the darling of many unions in America, none of them would accept the dangerous and deadly working conditions Cuban workers are forced to put up with.

Alfredo Herrera Sanchez writes in Diario de Cuba:

Fatalities and a dangerous lack of protection: what Cuban workers cannot blow the whistle on

In recent years, several workers have died due to frequent violations of occupational safety protocols.

Workers’ Memorial day, sponsored by the United Nations (UN), was celebrated on April 28. This day “explored the theme of safe and healthy working environments as a fundamental principle and right at work.” This opened a cycle that closed this May Day, also recognized by the UN as International Workers’ Day. As throughout the last six decades, in every municipality of Cuba there was a parade organized by the regime, although this time it was held on May 5 due to the fuel shortage.

In countries with totalitarian leftist systems, such as Cuba, May Day is used to celebrate the supposed achievements that make the “emancipated and empowered proletariat” proud. In democratic countries, such as Spain, the date is used to demand labor rights (the original purpose of the celebration). Castroism has hijacked the day to the point that workers on the island cannot demand changes in their work environment. May Day parades in Cuba are not conceived for that, but to show support for the regime.

During the spring march that takes place in the “revolutionary squares” (most of the provincial capitals have stages replicating the former Plaza Cívica), there is no mention of the episodes that have revealed the precariousness, insecurity and lack of protection of employees at their workplaces, while the Central de Trabajadores de Cuba (a union that represents the interests of the regime) does not condemn these working conditions or defend those affected by them.

Last March 26, custodian Iosbel Olivera Mesa, 36, died in an apparent accident at the Urbano Noris sugar mill in Holguín. “He was in an area that was not operating at first, and when the second auger came into operation, the unfortunate accident occurred. He suffered injuries incompatible with life,” the official report stated. In comments to that publication, Alexander Parra Suárez, who, according to his Facebook profile works at the Department of Engineering of the University of Holguín, said, “The administration should review the signaling of risk areas at the power plant and the training of workers on risks and safety at work, to prevent other fatal accidents.”

The Urbano Noris is the largest sugar mill in Holguín province and one of the largest in Cuba, together with the Jesús Menéndez sugar mill and the Uruguay sugar mill in the state of Espiritu.

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