The Cuban government mandates Cuban workers in Canada to remit a significant portion of their earnings to Cuba, as per two former employees interviewed by CBC News. These workers are also required to partake in “political-ideological workshops,” report on interactions with Canadian colleagues, face movement restrictions, and have their personal relationships monitored by the Cuban Communist Party.
Similar instances of wage confiscation by the Cuban government have been documented in other nations, such as Brazil. In Canada, a group of Cuban professionals are employed at a cobalt and nickel refinery in Alberta, operated as a joint venture between a Cuban state nickel company and Sherritt International. Another set of Cuban workers are stationed at a Sherritt-Cuba Niquel joint venture in the Bahamas. Here, they work alongside Canadian counterparts, receive salaries in Canadian dollars, and experience wage confiscation practices.
Former employees at these operations revealed that wage confiscation has been a longstanding practice for Cuban workers assigned abroad. While Canadian labor laws protect all workers in the country, the system relies on complaints, which the former employees believe could jeopardize Cuban workers’ safety.
The collaboration between Sherritt and the Cuban government, spanning over three decades, involves mining ore in Cuba, shipping it to Alberta for refining, and marketing the metals. To safeguard the identities of Cuban workers and their families from potential repercussions, CBC News has chosen to keep their names confidential.
Researcher Maria Werlau has extensively documented instances of wage confiscation by the Cuban government, particularly during medical missions in countries like Brazil, Jamaica, and the Middle East. Despite the challenges faced by Cuban workers in Canada, they earn considerably more than they would in Cuba.
The Cuban Communist Party imposes strict control measures on workers sent to joint ventures with Sherritt, restricting personal relationships and access to external information. The former employees emphasized that Sherritt was not directly involved in the wage confiscation scheme, attributing the practice to the Cuban government’s directives.
Efforts to address potential abuses are hindered by workers’ fear of reprisals, preventing them from lodging formal complaints. While the Canadian government is cognizant of the issues at hand, formal complaints have not been raised with the Alberta Ministry of Jobs, Economy, Trade, and Immigration. The federal government has emphasized that foreign workers in Canada are entitled to the same employment standards and protections as Canadian citizens, with avenues available for reporting abuses.