Workers' Control and Se1f-Management THE CASTROgovernment never seriously intended to allow meaningful participation of the workers in management (to say nothing about full self-management of industry). K. S. Karol reveals that in 1968: « ... Castro himself confessed to me that he saw no chance of granting the workers the right to self-management in the near future -let alone of 1ntroducing a truly socialist mode of production ... > (27). Jorge Risquet, the Minister of Labor, declared that: « ... the fact that Fidel Castro and I suggested that the workers be consulted, does not mean that we are going to negate the role that" the Communist Party must play. . . decision and responsibility fall to the management. . . one thing that is perfectly clear is that management should and does have ail the authority to make decisions and act. . . management represents the organization of the State and is charged with the planning and fulfilment of production and services ... ,, (28). In his famous speech of July 26th 1970, Castro made 1t clear that: « ... we must begin to establish a collective body in each plant ... but it must be headed by one man and also by representatives of the Advanced Workers Movement [the Cuban equ!valent of the Russian Stakhanovites who excelled all other workers in speed and output -model workers. Later Stakhanovism became the prototype for the Socialist Emulation Movement] the Young Communist League, the Communlst Party and the Woman's Front ... » (29). A 1965 law established Labor Counclls (Consejos de Trabajo). The L~bor Council is composed of five workers elected for a three year term. But the Councll does not manage, administrate, or even partially control production. Its functlons are to settle workers' gr'levances, expedlte the orders and directives of management, enforce work discipline and process transfers. The transfer of a worker must be approved by both the Ministry of Labor and the Communlst Party nucleus (30). (27) Karol, ibid., p. 546. (28) Speech ot the closing session of the 13th Congress of the CTC. {29l Quoted by Andrew Zimbalist, Paper presented to t.he 2nd Annllal Conference on Workers' Self-Management: Comell University, June, 1975. (30) Zimballat, ibid. 58
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