More than 39 thousand retirees return to work in Cuba

A total of 39,773 retirees returned to work in Cuba in a context of general crisis and the increase in prices in the national market.

In the middle of a inflation that is estimated to be the second highest in the world, the pensioners returned to work, for the most part, in the occupational category of technician, Ingrid Travieso Rosabal, Director of Employment of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MTSS), informed the official newspaper. Granma.

68% of retirees were located in the budgeted sector; of them, 11,431 (51%) were reintegrated into local subordinate organizations. In the business sector, 17,539 work, of which 16,453 are in national subordinate entities and 1,086 in local governments, said the official.

The Director of Employment of the MTSS recalled that Decree 36 of 2021, of Law 105 on Social Security, establishes that the reinstatement of a pensioner to the same position they held at the time of obtaining their pension and accruing the pension and salary may be authorized. provided that it responds to the interest of the entity and after consulting the Board of Directors.

At the end of 2020, a report from the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI) revealed that 210,202 workers were over working age in Cuba. However, it is not a fact that should be surprising if one considers that retirees' pensions are negligible and inflation continues to rise.

Granma He referred to the National Program for attention to demographic dynamics and population aging, which aims, through public policies, to favor people over 60 years of age and encourage their participation in the economic, political and social tasks of the country, but this alleged attention does not It focuses on providing a decent pension or providing means of subsistence for retirees.

Official figures showed that approximately 800,000 pensioners earn 1,528 CUP per month, the minimum established for retirements after 30 years of service, an amount below the minimum wage, set at 2,100 CUP by the government.

With this perception of minimum retirement, many are forced to return to work to add an income that somewhat increases their monthly capital, which allows them to purchase the products necessary to survive.

Older adults, like the rest of the Cuban population, are forced to buy basic necessities in stores for MLC, which would mean investing 140 pesos for every dollar - at the current exchange rate in the informal market - or acquiring other currencies in the state Cadecas to be able to access these establishments. With the first exchange rate, The minimum retirement of 1,528 represents only 10 dollars and 91 cents.

The helplessness in which pensioners have been left in Cuba leaves them no alternative but to return to work.

However, pensions retired military of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) and the Ministry of the Interior (MININT), almost tripled in January of this year.

At that time, the government did not offer an official explanation as to where the money had come from to assume the increase in pensions for ex-military personnel, but it made it evident that the rest of the retirees did not deserve an increase for their technical or professional services.