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Caribbean-Latin America
Cuba Doubles Minimum Wage, Still Nada to Buy
2005-04-22
President Fidel Castro of Cuba has announced plans to more than double the country's minimum wage. Labourers earning about 100 Cuban pesos ($4.10; £2.13) a month will see their wages rise to 225 pesos from 1 May.
And you thought your allowance as a kid was terrible....
The move will benefit 1.6 million workers, including farmhands, plumbers and undertakers, who survive on the lowest wages in communist Cuba. President Castro's confidence in the economy has been buoyed by closer trade relations with Venezuela and China. Oil deposits have also recently been discovered off Cuba's coast.
"Take that, Yankee Peeeeg!"
Many Cubans supplement their low wages by working on the black market. Cuba's economy has been struggling since the collapse in 1991 of its former sugar daddy backer, the Soviet Union. However, Cuba's government has recently introduced a number of measures in an attempt to improve the livelihood of its citizens. At the end of March, the 78-year-old president announced a rise in payments for Cubans claiming welfare, including single mothers, widows and disabled people. The increase in welfare payments, which will benefit 1.5 million Cubans, will also take place from 1 May. President Castro said the minimum wage increases would cost his net worth the Cuban government about 1.1bn pesos. The average Cuban government worker earns about 300 pesos a month, although most citizens pay no rent, while education and health care provision are also free.
Posted by:Desert Blondie

#12  I find the idea of a minimum wage undertaker a little off putting somehow

Well, it's not like their clients can complain about the service.
Posted by: Steve   2005-04-22 2:01:46 PM  

#11  ... for Canadian and European tourists as well as the handful of Americans who get over there!
Posted by: Tkat   2005-04-22 12:08:22 PM  

#10  that's "working on their back" market
Posted by: Frank G   2005-04-22 12:07:53 PM  

#9  Many Cubans supplement their low wages by working on the black market.

The BBC left out 'prostitution'.
Posted by: Pappy   2005-04-22 12:06:11 PM  

#8  No doubt Fidel's been watching world news and expects a sudden influx of incredibly wealthy Canadian officials and UN bureaucrats.
Posted by: Robert Crawford   2005-04-22 11:53:11 AM  

#7  So what's the water like, hot in the summer and cold in the winter?

/Yeah, old Russian joke, I know...
Posted by: Raj   2005-04-22 11:44:59 AM  

#6  Christ, you people want everything...
Posted by: El Supremo   2005-04-22 11:35:49 AM  

#5  We'll throw in a rice cooker.

Would be nice if there was sufficient electricity to run the thing.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama   2005-04-22 11:34:03 AM  

#4  "...although most citizens pay no rent..."
...and have no water, no electricity,...

"...while education..."
You mean communist indoctrination. Actually, not that different from our public schools, I guess.

"...and health care provision are also free."
Including the free roaches sharing your hospital room.
Posted by: Jackal   2005-04-22 11:14:41 AM  

#3  oil off Cuba's coast = int'l waters or diagonal drilling for US companies :-)
Posted by: Frank G   2005-04-22 11:09:03 AM  

#2  ...and a rice cooker. We'll throw in a rice cooker.
Posted by: El Supremo   2005-04-22 11:08:26 AM  

#1  I find the idea of a minimum wage undertaker a little off putting somehow.
Posted by: Shipman   2005-04-22 11:05:16 AM  

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