For years, the efforts to attain efficiency have been one of the main goals for the Cuban economy, but impossible to reache out due to several external and internal factors. As Vice president of the Council of Ministers Marino Murillo reported at a recent National Assembly session, in the year 2010 there was an improvement between the correlation of work productivity growth (4.4%), amounting to 448 pesos, and productivity (4.2 %), practically equal to the unitt.

For 2011, Murillo predicted more favorable results, which will be related to the reduction process of over-inflated payrolls and job disposability at state entities.

Precisely one the purposes of the economic model updating is intended for stopping this negative trend, which could be reverted if the productivity growth rate exceeds the average wage levels required in Cuba.

The fact is that the aforementioned imbalance entails that: “the society distributes consumer goods at a faster pace than production “said Murillo at a meeting with labor leaders, in which he also noticed the existence of an excess of jobs in the services sector as compared to those in the goods production sector, a structure that does not allow an appropriate performance for any economy.”

For Lazaro González Rodríguez, Doctor in Science and University of Havana’s Professor, the question of the unfavorable correlation between productivity and average wages is complex and has many interpretations.

For him, its solution has to do with the active and responsible participation of all workers – leaders as well -  at all levels in the country, requiring a well-studied strategy and properly institutionalized, without the unnecessary centralism or bureaucracy. "

In a scientific research on this issue, the expert underlines that the public should have an increased awareness regarding the amount to be produced with a higher productivity, aimed at  improving the people’s quality life instead of focusing on profits.

“This should not be the powering engine of Socialism,  which does not mean to override monitoring and control, but not as the main indicator, explained the specialist.

On the other hand, Master of Science Roberto Almarales considers that the solution should not be wage hiking, but its revaluation. “What should be done is to increase productivity so that  the availability of more products and services would contribute to  price reduction as a result of the supply and demand rule,” he added.

As clearly stated at the recent Cuban Parliamentary session, Agriculture and Construction are sectors embracing the greatest number of enterprises having a work productivity growing less than  wages paid in the same period of production; also a five-year analysis brought out similar evils at Basic and Food Industries as well as in Transportation.

Several labor leaders have outlined as shortfalls the payment methods focused on production indirect indicators, accomodating economic plans and job organization  inadequacy.

Recently Oscar Sanchez, a Granma newspaper colleague, wrote that the Cuban people are concerned about prices. “The only regulating element would be the increase of goods and services.  What would happen if prices go down by decree? We would contribute to increase purchasing power of those having a lot of money; we would not boost productivity in the country and workers’ wages would not be a deciding factor in the personal aspiration of people, which would be disastrous for our aspirations. Cuba would continue being the only country all over the world where people do not need to work to survive.”

So, as some specialists put it, the wage is no longer the driving factor for productivity growth and efficiency in Cuba and an aspiration is salary becomes the people’s main incentive,  out of the the socialism principle:   From each according to his or her ability, to each according to his or her need”.

So far external job factors have frustrated this desire, such as remittances and non legal incomes, and indirectly, the excessive subsidies and the indadequate gratuities provided by the state, all of which has started to be rearranged according to the measures set up by the Cuban updating economic model.

Now and and until  February a nationwide analysis on the guidelines of the Cuban Economic and Social Policy of the Party and the Revolution is being and continue to be a breeding ground for the most sincere and open debate on the part of workers and the Cuban people as whole in relation with a trilogy: Productivity, wages and prices, a very complex but an able-to-be-solved issue, of which the people are starting to be aware.

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