This Thursday, the Plenary Session of the Provincial Conference of the CTC analyzed the main issues that concern and occupy the union's work here. The meeting was chaired by Osnay Miguel Colina Rodríguez, head of the Organizing Committee of the 22nd Congress of the Cuban Workers' Union (CTC in Spanish), Osbel Lorenzo Rodríguez, first secretary of the Party in Las Tunas, and Yelenys Tornet Menéndez, governor.

Las Tunas, Cuba.- Cadre policy and the functioning of the organization, with an emphasis on unionization and income, were some of the topics under discussion. The forum also reviewed the preparation of union leaders, the conduct and quality of executive secretariat meetings, and member assemblies. It also reviewed the use of collective bargaining agreements and the ongoing discussion of the draft Labor Code.

The actions of the cadres are decisive, said Odalis Batista Pérez, who was ratified the previous day as head of the new Provincial Committee of the CTC. It is also important to continue striving for voluntary unionization, she emphasized.

On that very issue, she warned, it is particularly worrying that in the last five years, union membership has declined here by more than 29,000 members. Within the non-state sector, she explained, membership is close to half of those working under these forms of management. At the same time, she noted the almost universal neglect of this segment, with the honorable exception of the Hotel and Tourism Workers' Union. “The timely and systematic treatment of their main concerns is urgent,” she insisted.

Preventing and combating crime and corruption remain priorities, he said. He also criticized the lack of depth in the evaluation and analysis of these situations, precisely where it is most needed: in the membership assemblies.

In their speeches, the participants in the Plenary session criticized the use of formal methods and the lack of intentionality of the cadres at the grassroots level. Meanwhile, there was consensus on the challenge posed by union work today, not only among state entities but also in relation to individual entrepreneurs and private micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises.

Faced with these realities, Osnay Colina Rodríguez urged those present to shake up everyday union action, raising awareness of the problems and persevering in the search for solutions. Let us make full use of the rights that workers have, he urged.

Those attending the meeting took a moment to sign their names in support of the Cuban Revolutionary Government's statement on the urgency of preventing military aggression against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.