Cuban officials take action to counter dangerously low workforce and migration exodus
More Cubans than ever are bidding farewell to their nation through mass migration to countries such as the US, Canada, Spain and other nations so now the government has introduced another decree, this time allowing Cuban´s to maintain more than one government job at a time, essentially attempting to fill positions of those professionals who left the island with those remaining.
As opposed to decreeing the right for Cuban´s to establish free enterprise the government is allowing those remaining professionals, after yet another year of mass migration, to hold down more than one government job. For some reason Cuban officials are fearful of adopting China´s model of socialism where free enterprise is encouraged under the socialist banner. Those Cuban´s who run Paladars, Taxi services and the handful of other private enterprises have proved that Cuban´s are astoundingly enterprising people. One look across the Florida straight see´s Cuban´s excelling, often times over their natural born US piers in many sectors. Cuban´s are on a whole a hard working group of people with astounding success rates when left to their own devices.
A note published in state media Monday and Tuesday says the permission was granted under a decree passed by the island’s governing councils of state and ministers headed by President Raul Castro. The decree itself has not been published.
The measure seems aimed at filling necessary positions in the aforementioned shrinking work force, and giving Cubans the chance to increase their income in a country where the average monthly salary is about $20.
It also seems designed to prevent Cubans from engaging in non-sanctioned activities to earn money – a common practice here.
Although most Cubans do not pay for housing and receive free health care and education and highly subsidized utilities, transportation and basic food basket, most complain the government salaries do not provide enough for many essential items.
Many Cubans already engage in various illegal jobs to make ends meet, such as the sale of goods stolen from government workplaces and warehouses, or providing unlicensed services.
The official note says that the decision to let Cubans hold multiple jobs is tied in part “to the effects of an aging population” and designed to “stimulate work throughout society, as well as the possibility that workers can increase their income.”
The decree is nevertheless probably more associated with a rapidly depleting workforce attracted by new immigration laws and increased legal immigration quotas from Canada and Spain. Spain extended its qualifications of those legally qualified to obtain Spanish nationality to grandchildren of Spanish nationals in 2008. Estimates concerning this change establish that around 240,000 Cuban´s could qualify for instant Spanish nationality. Due to the “grandson” groups age this means that most who qualify will be in their mid thirties to early fifties, commonly recognized as an excellent age for professionals who are often in their prime producing years at these ages.
It is also known that the Cuban authorities have implemented an administrative “slow down” on the provision of essential documents needed from the authorities to submit to the consulates of the foreign nations offering such immigration schemes probably as a measure to reign in the massive amount of nationals searching rapid departure from the island.
