A panel discussion and exhibition, organized by the Confederation of Trade Unions of Austria (ÖGB, by its German initials) about "Cuba in change, work and life in transition" dedicated to the history and current affairs of the Cuban Trade Union (CTC, by its Spanish initials) was held at the headquarters of the Academy of the Austrian Chamber of Workers and Employees. The Ambassador of Cuba to Austria, Juan Antonio Fernández Palacios and the Secretary of International Relations of CTC, Gilda Chacón Bravo, delivered the presentation of the theme and answered many questions from the more than one hundred attendees of the event.
In the fruitful debate, important issues such as the updating process of the Cuban economic and social model and its impact on workers; the changes in the leadership of the State and the Government; the beginning of the constitutional reform process; as well as the state of Cuba-US relations were addressed. It was highlighted in the presentations and responses that the updating of the Cuban model aiming at strengthening the socialist system to make it more prosperous and sustainable faces greater challenges as it is carried out under the fierce economic, commercial and financial blockade of the United States.
The Ambassador said that the real and profound changes in Cuba began on 1 January 1959, with the Triumph of the Revolution and since then the transformations and evolution of the country have been permanent and dialectical processes.
Bravo Chacón referred to the long tradition of struggle that has accompanied CTC since its foundation in 1939 from the workers' demands to the example of its leaders and to its permanent support for the Revolution. She announced that in January 2019 this organization will celebrate its 80th anniversary and it will hold its 21st Conference.
Mr. Josef Pesserl, President of the Chamber of Workers and Employees of Styria, Michael Wögerer, member of the Secretariat of International Relations of the Austrian Confederation of Workers and Hermann Pernestorfer, General Secretary of the Austria-Cuba Friendship Association also attended the event. As part of it, the exhibition about the history of CTC was inaugurated and the book entitled Cuba en Cambios (Cuba in change), a compilation of 16 works made by a group of Austrian and German authors was launched.
(Embacuba Austria / Cubaminrex)