The Fundamental Question page 4 of 4

Improve incomes, but how? Incomes have become a mystery.  Statistically, one could think that everyone who earns low or mid-level wages is socially disadvantaged.  But among Cubans, the income stream flows from many sources, and jumping to conclusions can be deceptive. It frequently happen that a person, in addition to his or her wages or retirement pension, receives a family remittance from abroad, or in some form participates in a private business, and attains an acceptable level of consumption when, technically, he or she is among those with the least income.  Many economists also prefer to view the subject from the perspective of family income, because it is the aggregate income of the family that determines what level of economic tension or comfort is felt. This reality forces a different approach.  Studies of economic capacity can no longer be done through generalities or percentages. The issue is really about raising the incomes of those who have in reality been most harmed by the crisis; those people who could not get hold of any satisfactory strategy to obtain an adequate livelihood. For this reason, much effort is being put into not just improving the economic situation of those labor sectors whose workers, as a whole,  have been most left behind in getting out of the crisis, but also into looking at needs on a person by person basis. A little more that 900 thousand employees of the economic sector financed by the national budget (teachers, doctors, judges, journalists, scientists ...), have begun to receive wage raises in the last two years.  Nevertheless, the standard of social justice that has been part of the foundation of the Revolution, has necessitated the development of a method designed to detect and assist,  at a family and community level, all those people who were left, quite frankly, without economic protection.

While in some places the results of an improving economy can be seen . . .

Even so, the general solution to the dilemma of incomes will come about, inevitably, through an increase in productivity in the empresarial system.  Perhaps the most transcendent economic change in all these years is that which has quietly commenced with the "perfeccionamiento" *** of the Cuban state enterprises.  Within the panoply of changes that are implicated, this restructuring notably favors having a worker's  income tied to good production results. The successful establishment of the system of enterprise perfeccionamiento, seems to be the only sure guarantee that the country will obtain efficient and high levels of production.  Only that way, with a healthy and growing economic state, can a good balance between incomes and prices be obtained.   In the end, no one can escape the great truth that wages cannot grow more than the gross domestic production of the country. Note: Thanks to sociologist Isabel Candelé for her collaboration in the production of this article.

. . . there are other pockets where people still live a marginalized life.  A program to assist those who are least well off is being implemented, following social and community investigations.

_______________________________________________________________ ***At the 5th Party Congress in November 1997, an Economic Resolution was adopted which underlies Cuba's current economic policy.  The resolution stresses the importance of perfecting the state enterprise, termed "perfeccionamiento," as the key to economic survival and growth.  It makes clear that dependence on foreign investment is not the desired solution.  While it confirms the continuation of areas of self-employment, the express objective is to elevate the value of the Cuban peso through increased productivity and efficiency which will lead to the elimination of the use of dual currencies. With respect to workers and unions, the resolution states that "it is decisive to prioritize the collective participation in the organization of work, the personal recognition and adequate attention to the worker and to his work environment together with material incentives."  It specifically calls for the application of new and varying systems of salary and incentives as well as modern management systems, and recognizes the decisive role of the CTC and the unions to the success of the economic policies. For further discussion, see Workers in Cuba, Unions & Labor Relations by Debra Evenson (December 2001), http://www.sugarlaw.org/executivesummary.pdf

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Text (c) 2001 Bohemia Photos (c) 2001 C. O'Hara