Havana/Cuba remains one of the countries with the lowest minimum wage in the world despite the increase published in the Official Gazette of Cuba. Although the Government insists on defending the measure as part of the “transformations” to mitigate the crisis on the Island, the reality is that the athletes’ salaries remain meager.
The remunerations are in pesos, which represents a disadvantage, when the official exchange rate of the Central Bank of Cuba fluctuates this Sunday at 592 pesos, that is, workers with a minimum salary of 3,210 pesos are obtaining about 5 dollars and 40 cents. “The amount that seems significant is far from reality,” reported the specialized media. Full Swing.
High-performance athletes will receive 5,590 pesos (less than $10 per month) if they reach the category of Olympic medalists. Whoever wins a world medal will be awarded 4,845 (8 dollars), the Pan American winners will be awarded 4,475 pesos (7.5 dollars), and 4,095 pesos (6.9 dollars) for medals in the Central American Games. Now, players from the National Pre-selection and the National Series will be paid 3,725 pesos (6.2 dollars), while the reserves will be given 3,210 pesos (5.4 dollars).
Depending on the medal obtained in the Olympic Games, an additional fee will be awarded to the athletes: for a gold medal 10,000 pesos (almost 17 dollars), for a silver medal 6,500 pesos (almost 11 dollars) and those who obtain bronze will be awarded 5,000 (a little more than eight dollars). Those who win a medal in world events will receive 8.4 dollars for first place, almost 6 dollars for second place and 4 dollars for third places.
The increases are anemic. The Ministry of Labor and Social Security recognized that the “increase” continues to be “insufficient compared to the behavior of prices and the cost of the basket of goods and services,” as published in the official newspaper Granma.
‘Swing Complete’ points out that with these salaries and costs on the Island, food continues to be torture.
Full Swing He points out that with these salaries and costs on the Island, food continues to be torture. The same media recalls that a pound of beans costs 350 pesos, a bottle of oil 1,800, a carton of eggs 3,000 and a pound of rice 350.
“In simple mathematics and using numbers that are very far from the requirement, an option would look like this (for a few days of nutrition, knowing that many of these athletes are the pillar of a family): 10 pounds of rice for 3,500 pesos, plus two bottles of oil around 3,600 pesos, to which is added the cost of two cartons of eggs for 6,000 pesos and another 3,500 for 10 pounds of beans, give a total of 16,600 pesos.”
The same media emphasizes that the list includes meat of any type, as well as mortadella and spaghetti, which would raise the figure above 20,000 pesos (33.7 dollars).
“This exercise was carried out without touching on an issue that is a latent difficulty and that is the energy issue, with the constant blackouts that make life more difficult. A bag of charcoal ranges between 1,400 and 18,000 pesos and several are needed per month for cooking.”
After the total disconnection of the national electrical system that occurred on Friday, July 10 – the second in less than a week and the fourth so far this year – last Sunday the service was still not completely restored. The reality is that the recovery of the electrical system is progressing slowly between protests and strong police surveillance.
Costs would rise even more if we add the purchase of medications. The pharmacies are almost empty and we have to go to the so-called black market, where a blister of antibiotics is valued at more than 500 pesos and which has had to be used to acquire almost all of the medicines and health supplies. He shortage of the basic medication table It reached such high levels last May that it is necessary to almost completely “invent” the cost of the products to calculate the consumer price index in Cuba.
