14ymedio, Havana, 9 September 2023 — Those who go to the branch of the Cimex mercantile corporation in Habana del Este, in search of the jobs they advertised with great fanfare on their social networks, will be disappointed. Only one of the monthly salaries of the available jobs – all manual trades that require “aptitude, experience and certification” – exceeds 3,000 pesos, a figure that is barely enough to buy half a box of chicken or a carton of eggs in Havana.
The corporation managed by the military, which sets the pace of much of the trade on the Island and whose managers understand first-hand the severity of inflation in the country, can only offer an electrician 2,960 pesos, while a maintenance worker will be paid 2,420. A carpenter with the rank of master will be able to opt for a payment of 2,960 pesos; a welder and a plumber, 2,540, the same amount provided for a painter.
Only refrigeration and air conditioning technicians will be paid 3,410, much more than the rest but just as useless to face the greed of Cuban businesses, both state and private.
The barrage of negative comments caused Cimex to delete the ad hours after publishing it. “This is a joke that makes you want to cry,” commented one user, calling on the managers to be realistic, since “on the street everything costs three times more than those salaries.”
The barrage of negative comments caused Cimex to delete the ad hours after publishing it
“He who knows any of those trades can earn in one day the salary offered for a month, doing a particular job,” insisted another reader, while another warned that, as long as wages are not improved, all Cimex stores will continue to be “destroyed.”
“This is why the Revolution is advancing,” another commentator said with irony, while most reminded advertisers how much food cost on the Island, in which buying anything “needs several months” of savings. Another reader summarized the options of Cubans: with those salaries, it is more profitable to “continue without working.”
Cimex is not the only state company that is desperately looking for workers. The newly created Department of the Ombudsman’s Office, in the Directorate of Justice of Cienfuegos, published a call in the local press for people to work in the legal field. Although they list a series of requirements – not every lawyer is eligible for the job – including enjoying a “good public concept” and needing the approval of the Ministry of Justice, the announcement does not reveal how much they will pay those who are approved.
The crisis has even reached Cubadebate, the regime’s foremost propaganda medium, which tries to recruit “passionate journalists” for its team. As long as they are “committed” to the Revolution, they do not need to be graduates in that profession but only to have a “journalistic vocation” and “reside in Havana.”
To sweeten the proposal, they not only promise “open hours” and “a quality internet connection,” but also the fact of working for “a renowned news platform.” The salary, however, deflates the offer: just 5,060 pesos and – if the worker earns the good favor of the team led by the prominent Cuban TV host Randy Alonso – a “monthly stimulation payment.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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