Cuba Approves Adjustments to Working Hours, Holidays and Teleworking to Reduce Energy Consumption

The authorities urged teleworking during the pandemic, but the option was never consolidated. (Prensa Latina)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 3 August 2022 — The Ministry of Labor and Social Security of Cuba announced labor measures to reduce electricity consumption ranging from working remotely, in the field, vacations, adjustments in hours and job relocation.

The package of measures seeks to reduce energy consumption in the state sector and contemplates work interruption, although this “must be applied as a last option,” according to a press release from the Ministry.

The text indicates that, if a reduction in working hours is determined, the salary will be paid in correspondence with the real time worked, not one hundred percent.

It’s also specified that workers who cannot be relocated are entitled to a wage guarantee equivalent to one hundred percent of their basic daily salary for a period of one month, counted consecutively or not, within the year.

Cuba already adopted alternatives such as teleworking during the COVID-19 pandemic to avoid contagion, although it wasn’t widely applied, and face-to-face attendance returned quickly.

The measure comes in the midst of the country’s energy crisis, with daily power cuts and scheduled power outages for the residential sector. Industries had already been progressively reducing their work time during peak hours, but nothing seems to be sufficient.

The blackouts were one of the causes of social discontent that provoked last year’s massive anti-government protests, as well as the minor but increasingly frequent demonstrations in recent days.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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