Related videos:
The National Assembly of People's Power of Cuba published the draft law of the new Labor Code, a text of more than 130 pages that will replace Law 116, which has been in effect since June 2014, and adapts the Cuban labor framework to an economy that can no longer ignore the expansion of the private sector, mass emigration, and remote work.
The document, signed by the president of the Assembly, Juan Esteban Lazo Hernández, is not a radical reform of the labor market or an economic opening, but rather an update that acknowledges realities that have been existing de facto on the island for years.
A structural change is the legal equalization of the non-state sector with the state sector.
Article 4 establishes that micro, small, and medium enterprises (mipymes), cooperatives, self-employed workers, and any other approved forms of management "establish labor relationships with the workers they require to carry out their activities, which are governed by the provisions of this Code."
The project also includes the figure of the self-employed worker, defined as someone who works without being subordinate to an employer and without having other workers under their dependency.
That figure is granted rights to remain active in their profession, claim violations, and resort to judicial avenues, but also has obligations such as carrying the documents that support their activity, adhering to safety and health regulations in the workplace, contributing to social security, and paying the corresponding taxes.
In the 2013 Code, the private sector was regarded as something exceptional.
Today, with over 11,000 registered private companies since 2021 and a sector that generates more than 31% of total employment, that exceptionalism no longer has any basis.
The text also normalizes the reduction of state payrolls.
It eliminates the figure of the "available worker" and establishes that entities can terminate employment relationships "for economic, technological, and structural reasons," with a compensation of six basic salaries paid once to those who do not achieve relocation.
The text also specifies that such dismissals may occur due to the elimination of the position, meaning the removal of a role from the staff as a result of economic, technological, or structural changes within the organization.
The statement of reasons acknowledges it directly: "The designation of available worker is eliminated, and temporary relocation is abolished. Entities are empowered to determine which workers are terminated from their employment for economic, technological, and structural reasons."
The most notable aspect of the text is the regulation of telework from abroad, outlined in Article 199: "An employee who travels abroad for personal matters may continue to work at the employer's request during the authorized period, using telework as long as the conditions and characteristics of the work to be performed allow it. In this case, an addendum to the employment contract is created without suspending the employment relationship."
This provision creates, for the first time, a legal basis for transnational labor relations in a country that lost between 20% and 24% of its population due to emigration between 2020 and 2024.
Telecommuting from abroad, however, is subject to the employer's interest and to whether the nature of the work permits it, so it does not constitute an automatic right for the employee traveling outside the country.
The Code also regulates remote work, flexible hours, digital disconnection, and the reversibility between in-person and remote modalities, in addition to expanding protections for pregnant women, working mothers, and caregivers.
Among the recognized rights is the right not to be contacted outside of working hours, during rest days, holidays, vacations, disabilities, or leaves of absence, except in urgent and unavoidable situations related to production and services.
However, the text has evident limitations.
It does not address the real wage crisis: the average state salary is around 6,506 Cuban pesos per month, equivalent to about 14-17 dollars at the informal exchange rate, which is insufficient to cover basic needs in a context of severe inflation and scarcity.
It also does not recognize independent unions or the right to strike.
Although the project discusses trade union freedom, collective bargaining, and worker participation, it maintains labor representation within the framework of officially recognized trade union organizations and does not introduce an explicit guarantee for trade union pluralism.
The labor representation continues to be focused on the Central de Trabajadores de Cuba, the official organization of the regime, while independent unions continue to demand legal recognition without success.
The process of the popular consultation, approved by the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Cuba on April 8, 2025, gathered 40,591 meetings with the participation of 2,014,338 workers, which is 87% of those expected.
Out of the 96,250 proposals received, 41,403 (43%) were accepted and 33,687 (35%) were not accepted.
The new Code will come into effect 90 days after its publication in the Official Gazette, and employers will have the same period to adjust contracts, update disciplinary regulations, and collective agreements.
The project would also repeal or incorporate several labor regulations enacted after the 2013 Code, including Resolution 43 of 2012 regarding workers who request to travel abroad for personal matters and Resolution 71 of 2021 concerning remote work and telecommuting.
The very exposé of motives of the project frankly acknowledges that "the issuance of the draft law does not have economic consequences resulting from the application of the proposals," an implicit admission that the Code regulates labor relations but does not address the central issue currently troubling Cuban workers: their wages are insufficient to live on.
Filed under: