It coincides with the announcement by the Embassy of Grenada to hire workers for $800 a month.
14ymedio, Havana, 18 September 2025 — The state-owned company Servicios Logísticos Mariel S.A. (SLM), located in the Mariel Special Development Zone (ZEDM), is seeking employees. According to Trabajadores, which published the call, the company needs to fill 33 positions and offers salaries starting at 12,000 pesos and up to 28,206 pesos, depending on the position and the applicants’ level of education.
The job offer is being published at a time of a massive flight of workers from the state sector, hit by devalued wages, poor conditions, and a constant exodus, both abroad and to the private sector, where salaries are better. It also coincides with the announcement of the hiring of bricklayers and carpenters by the Embassy of Grenada, which begins reviewing applications this Thursday from thousands of Cubans to work in that country, attracted by salaries of $800 per month plus accommodation and transportation.
SLM, considered the main logistics operator in the ZEDM, is seeking drivers, maintenance workers, automotive electricians, secretaries, legal advisors, energy conservation and human resources management technicians, as well as security guards, storekeepers, and mechanics. To make its offer attractive—and because its operation in the island’s most important economic hub allows it to secure certain benefits—the company is also offering food, transportation, quarterly utility bills, and the “possibility” of housing after five years, said Human Resources Specialist Yanara Disotuar Díaz.
SLM’s conditions are very difficult to find in other state entities, but they do not free Cubans from having to be paid in pesos in a dollarized economy.
SLM’s conditions are very difficult to find in other state-run entities, but they don’t free Cubans from having to be paid in pesos in a dollarized economy, being exposed to blackouts, and suffering from the lack of basic services.
In light of inflation, the benefits are also losing appeal. In August, the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI) published a report placing the island’s average salary at 6,649 pesos per month. At the time, the official press celebrated it as a “significant increase,” but the truth is that inflation—14.37% year-on-year as of the end of July—and the constant depreciation of the national currency against the dollar are eroding these gains. In the informal market, the dollar has reached 420 pesos, meaning the average salary is now equivalent to just 16 dollars per month.
SLM salaries, much higher, range from $28 to $67, a not inconsiderable amount on the Island, but figures that pales in comparison to the job offers published by the Embassy of Grenada .
The small Caribbean country has promised a weekly salary of $200 (close to the average wage), with accommodation, transportation, and immigration procedures fully covered. Selected workers will also have round-trip tickets guaranteed. In other words, a Cuban in Grenada could earn in one week what they barely earn in a year in their own country, not including basic expenses.
Granada’s proposal has the added advantage of offering an escape—at least temporarily—from the country and the resulting escape from the blackouts and other difficulties that hamper the daily lives of island residents, as well as perhaps serving as a springboard for embarking on a journey of no return.
Aware that Cubans are finding increasingly fewer solutions in working for the state, the government has resorted to desperate measures: distributing the salaries of vacant positions among active employees as an incentive. However, this measure does not solve the problem of low incomes; rather, it masks it while the workforce continues to seek opportunities, even if it is outside the country.
The Granada case itself demonstrates this. According to the country’s embassy, thousands have applied, and its staff is unable to cope with all the requests.
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