LAS TUNAS, July 17 (Ramón Humberto Colas, Lux InfoPress) – Martín Pérez, a fisherman in the town of Guayabal in this province, complained about safety conditions in the fishing fleet and was fired from his job.
Pérez, 40, wrote in January to Carlos Lage, the secretary of the Council of Ministers, denouncing conditions such as deteriorated hulls, and the lack of radios, life rafts, batteries, alternators, anchors and drinking water.
The official wrote Pérez that the didn’t have jurisdiction over the matter and referred it to Fisheries Minister Orlando Rodríguez Romay. He deferred to provincial director Armando Vega, and Vega created a commission to investigate the allegations, to be headed by Leonar
Rivero, the director of the fishing co-op n Guayabal. Rivero then fired Pérez.
The Organization of Labor Justice found the sanction was unwarranted and recommended that Pérez be reinstated to his job, but Rivero appealed to the municipal tribunal, which upheld the dismissal.
Pérez, who has been fishing for more than 20 years, says: "I have been condemned to poverty for defending my rights. I wrote Fidel [Castro] on April 30 and he delegated the matter to the Minister, and the whole chain ends up with the same person who fired me. I have three sons for
whom I cannot provide."
Versión original en español
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