The Militant(logo) 
    Vol.60/No.13           April 1, 1996 
 
 
Cuban Workers Discuss Agricultural Cooperatives  

Printed below is the third portion of the Theses for the 17th Congress of the Central Organization of Cuban Workers (CTC). This document was discussed at thousands of factory assemblies and other workplace meetings throughout Cuba between January 15 and March 15, in preparation for the congress of the country's nationwide trade union federation.

The CTC leadership has issued a call to trade unionists and other workers from around the world to attend the congress, scheduled for April 25-30 in Havana (for travel from the United States see ad below).

The theses, prepared by the federation's National Committee after a round of CTC conferences organized in every municipality, consist of 11 sections. The last two issues of the Militant published the first seven sections (see box with contents).

The third installment, printed below, consists of section eight.

The theses were published as a special supplement to the Nov. 20, 1995, issue of Trabajadores, the CTC's weekly newspaper. Translation from Spanish is by the Militant.

VIII. Working for the consolidation and triumph of the UBPCs

107. At a critical moment when the shortage of resources made it impossible to sustain the big state-owned agricultural enterprises, the leadership in Cuba created the Basic Units of Cooperative Production [UBPCs] as a revolutionary, working- class, and socialist alternative.(1) In practice, this has meant that hundreds of thousands of agricultural workers and their families - the most humble sector of the population - have been granted an enormous patrimony: free and permanent use of land.

108. While brief, the period since the creation of the UBPCs shows that the union plays an irreplaceable role, in particular by encouraging members to take part in and advance the five-point program.(2) Success in this is decisive for the rapid consolidation of these units.

109. Our 17th congress should reaffirm that this program is an absolute priority for the entire union movement, and in particular for the Sugar, Agricultural, and Tobacco workers unions.

110. At a time when employment is shrinking in other sectors of production and in the area of services, the UBPCs have become our most important source of jobs. We should discuss and firmly implement steps to bring the workforce to full strength at these units. It is essential to create the kind of economic and social conditions that will make them increasingly attractive to hundreds of thousands of new workers. Such steps will help assure a stable, productive workforce that is closely tied to the land and capable of meeting the needs of the sugar industry, food production, and the cultivation of other crops needed by industry.

111. It is necessary to continue confronting the problems - both material and subjective - that have slowed down the construction of low-cost housing for the sugar and agricultural UBPCs.

112. We should discuss and implement steps to make the UBPCs self-sufficient in producing food for the workers and their families, focusing on intensive use of the land set aside for this purpose.

113. The current reduction in use of mechanization makes it essential to promote maximum use of draft animals, and to ensure the production of the tools and implements such a step requires. This is a fundamental road toward increasing labor output.

114. Finally, deepening the connection between the individual and the land has proved to be an effective way to increase production, provide motivation, encourage the participation of the entire family in farm work, and increase workers' income in correspondence with their output.

115. If we carry out the five points, we will accomplish our intention of consolidating these units of production. This will make possible increasing workers' income. It will substantially improve conditions of life and labor in the countryside, which is the only road to stable, lasting solutions to the economic questions posed in agricultural production.

116. The rules that have been established for these collectives and their elected leadership boards must be respected. They must be held responsible for meeting the levels of work and production they agreed to. At the same time, however, their areas of authority must be respected. We must fight the tendency of certain enterprises to charge them unjust prices for the goods and services they offer. And we should increase the attention paid to the workers. The autonomy workers derive from their new condition as members of cooperatives must be acknowledged in reality. It should become a source of creative initiative, of encouragement to more and better work.

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1. The UBPCs were initiated in September 1993. Since then, they have replaced most state farms. Members of the UBPCs-- mostly workers who were formerly employed at state farms--own and sell what they produce, but the land itself remains nationalized.

2. The five-point program is described in theses 110-114.

 
 
 
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