Maria de las Nieves Gala and Evelio Telleria
The growth of the gross domestic product (GDP) for 2015 of a 4 percent is a challenge for the Cuban workers. So, there will be a process of information to the workers as strategic task, which were passed in the Economic Planning and the Budget.
Ulises Guilarte de Nacimiento, general secretary of the Cuban Workers Federation (CTC) said that without the performance of the working class there will be no possibility to achieve this task. That is why; this organization has made a call to carry out meetings during the months of January and February and if necessary in March too.
This is a political process supported with the right granted to the workers in the Constitution of the Cuban Republic, to participate in the process to lead production also backed by the Labor Code, the union leader stressed.
Guilarte, it is known that for a long time, the economic planning is informed to the workers in assemblies, why does the union insist so much in this moment?
Because it is vital if we want to reach the 4 percent we hope in the economy, so the workers can directly influence in its materialization of this growth.
We also count on the autonomy granted to the State enterprises by the Guidelines of the new economic model that will help decentralize functions.
Today, a businessman decides the social object, he can trade the idle means and he can approve things at the level of the enterprise, the way of payment.
Formality has always influenced this kind of process and the assemblies are sometimes lacking quality. What have you done to prevent it?
We have to break with formality; those leading these assemblies should prevent this. We are preparing the leaders. They should clearly inform the workers so they can make the adequate analysis.
What kind of preparation have the leaders received?
We have designed a program of training in different modalities in the entire country. These training courses will give the leaders all the tools that will help know and interpret the directive indicators.
There have also been held specialized workshops to master the structures of the budget aimed to better the working conditions, security and health at work and the different ways of payment.
What can the affiliates do if the report delivered does not have the exigencies demanded?
A meeting like that cannot be done. Leaders are the responsible ones to prevent this happen.
Affiliates are responsible to tell where the reserves and the insufficiencies are, and at the same time, the administrations have a dose of responsibility which is to guarantee the raw material, consumables, the finance and hiring of the resources for the productive processes.
What is the difference compared to last year?
We have passed this year the inclusion of utilities or payments for economic efficiency, not only to the enterprises, but also to all those that fulfill with their indicators. This should be informed to the workers. The union is responsible for that, to let them know that their incomes will depend, above all, on their contributions and the capacity to generate enough goods which at present can be returned to their incomes.
This will be the main contribution of the unionists to the call made by Army General Raul Castro Ruz to grow in economy.
How can people earn more? Well, they can do it contributing with more goods and this is the main task for our union leader in these assemblies.
During all this process, the most important thing will be the contribution of every labor staff on the base.
