HAVANA, October 17 (Regina del Sol y Alejandro Hernández, AIDH /
CubaNet) Workers of the Basic Unit of Cooperative Production (UBPC) "Pedrera,"
in Puerto Padre, receive almost no salary after deductions are taken by the
company for food provided for them.
Carlos A. Luján, 58, and the father of four, received 3 pesos in the
first half of August, and 6 pesos in the second half, or less than half a dollar
for the month. In September, he didn't fare much better. After discounts for a
change of clothing and food, he received 20 pesos of his 110 peso salary; still
less than a dollar.
The UBPC represent an attempt by the government to solve the problem of
inefficiency in agricultural production. Workers are "granted" a
parcel to rent and are given guidelines and goals in terms of what to plant and
how much they have to deliver to the government at the end.
As presumably independent producers, the workers are charged for all
supplies they need by the government acting as the company store.
Versión
original en español
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