Average salary in Cuba rose 1 pct last year to $20 a month

Average salary in Cuba rose 1 pct last year to $20 a month
Published June 17, 2014 EFE

The average state salary in Cuba rose 1 percent in 2013 to 471 pesos
($20) a month, which maintains the trend toward slight increases seen in
recent years, according to an official report published Tuesday.

A study posted on the Web site of the National Statistics and
Information Office, or ONEI, indicates that the average monthly wage in
the state economy topped the 466 pesos ($17) of 2012, a year when it
rose 2.4 percent over the previous year.

ONEI figures show that during the last eight years the salaries of
public employees - more than 4 million people according to last year's
figures - have had constant annual raises, though very modest ones.

In 2006, average monthly pay was 387 pesos ($16).

By sectors, construction maintained the highest average state salary in
2013 at 582 pesos ($24), which should change in the coming months after
an exceptional increase is awarded to healthcare workers.

The government acknowledges that low wages are a problem, but observes
that Cubans pay no basic services like healthcare and education, while
prices in many other categories are subsidized.

President Raul Castro has insisted that pay hikes be linked to greater
productivity and that "in the short term" there will be no general wage
increase.

Nonetheless, the government approved raises for the more than 440,000
medical workers that will kick in this month, on grounds that the export
of Cuban healthcare services is today the nation's chief source of
income, worth some $6 billion per year.

Between 2008-2009, certain increases were added to pensions and to
salaries in sectors like the judiciary and education. EFE

Source: Average salary in Cuba rose 1 pct last year to $20 a month | Fox
News Latino -
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2014/06/17/average-salary-in-cuba-rose-1-pct-last-year-to-20-month/