Rising prices, the generation of new jobs and the protection of vulnerable population sectors stand out in Las Tunas after two months of the entry into force of the Ordering Task. This was revealed by an analysis made by the local government.

Las Tunas, Cuba.- On January 1st, in addition to ending the dual currency and exchange rate, the Cuban government implemented a general wage reform, gave more prerogatives to its state business community and announced new opportunities for private entrepreneurship. According to the governmental evaluation in the province, the different institutions and public organizations applied most of the foreseen steps.

In particular, they said, at the end of January all state workers from Las Tunas had received their increased salaries and the payment of the new amounts of pensions and other Social Security beneficiaries was completed; as well as those protected by Social Assistance, whose payments were anticipated since December 20, 2020.

According to the provincial government, in the Balcón del Oriente Cubano (Cuban Eastern Balcony), the approval of the new maximum prices for products and services of self-employees was completed, taking into account the referential prices approved by the Provincial Council.
However, on several occasions, its main representatives have clarified that the set of these prices would be subject to changes in the middle of this year.

These official data also corroborate that there was certainly an increase in the interest of the local population to find employment. In fact, those records indicated that at the end of February more than 5,700 people had gone to the different municipal Labor directorates in search of a job; however, only 44.9 percent achieved it and mostly in the non-state sector.

The government source itself specified that "in the state activity, jobs are mainly aimed at positions of operators, services and technicians"; while in self-employment "the greatest requests were directed towards the activities of hired workers, gastronomic services in a cafeteria, producer or vendor of various items, food processor-vendor on an outpatient basis and messengers, and to a lesser extent, leasing household.”

However, many of the applicants, the report states, "have not been able to access the places offered because they do not meet the formal requirements required to fill them;” especially, expressed, cultural level and/or occupational qualifications. Likewise, it emphasized that the presence of options related to the agricultural activity is not appreciated, as "the Delegation of Agriculture continues without available places for this purpose and, besides, it presents a budget deficit for the payment to workers."

In the future, the Government in this province said that its fundamental directions of work will be intended to concluding the formulation of the prices of the network of the so-called popular gastronomy and for the entire private sector. But without neglecting the concerns of the citizenship that still remains in the salaries established for the public sector in the categories of operators, technologists and another common; as well as in the employees of Health, Education and in the different forms of agricultural production management.

"The link and permanent exchange with the people of the government authorities and the working groups at all levels, it assured. Listening, solving, and rectifying have been decisive, which shows the social nature of the applied measures and the progress of the Ordering Task in Las Tunas.”

This week, when evaluating the matter, the Council of Ministers warned that several aspects failed in this process, among them, the training of the managers in charge of its materialization. From that forum, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez emphasized communication problems; the delay and bureaucracy that hinder the processes; and the need for economic analysis to always start from how to achieve efficiency to improve indicators and not to increase prices at the cost of continuing to do things wrong.