By
Manuel Alberto Ramy
Several
years ago, I talked with a friend -- a milling-machine and lathe
operator -- who worked in a production center. He complained that the
policy of material incentives (higher wages) was unfair, arguing
that, by distributing the profits among all the workers and managers,
those who produced the most were improperly reduced to the level of
those who produced the least. The system, he said, was an egalitarian
concept where, when the profits were handed out, "the one who
earned the most was the one who had a higher salary, even if he
didn't contribute as much as I did."
Beyond his legitimate personal concern, the egalitarianism that was practiced and the distribution of the profits among all of the employees tended to discourage production and productivity.
From Havana
As
long as the mocha
holds out
By
Manuel Alberto Ramy
Several
years ago, I talked with a friend -- a milling-machine and lathe
operator -- who worked in a production center. He complained that the
policy of material incentives (higher wages) was unfair, arguing
that, by distributing the profits among all the workers and managers,
those who produced the most were improperly reduced to the level of
those who produced the least. The system, he said, was an egalitarian
concept where, when the profits were handed out, "the one who
earned the most was the one who had a higher salary, even if he
didn't contribute as much as I did."
Beyond his legitimate personal concern, the egalitarianism that was practiced and the distribution of the profits among all of the employees tended to discourage production and productivity.
"We
have to make money as long as the mocha
holds
out," (1)
my
friend said, using a typical countryside expression used when payment
to cane cutters was based on the volume of their production.
Beginning this August, that will be the policy when it comes to
wages, says Resolution 9 of the Ministry of Labor and Social
Security.
The
daily Granma on June 11 published an article titled "New System
of Payment for Results." In it, the MLSS's Deputy Minister,
Carlos Mateu Pereira, says that companies will have as many systems
of payment-for-results as different activities, in other words,
"according to the nature of the work done by the worker."
Mateu also says that the workers who labor under the system of
payment-for-results in the production of goods and services will not
be restricted in their earnings for extra production. This statement
implicitly acknowledges the differences, as well as the fact that, in
order to increase productivity, the worker must be paid more. And,
because logically the country wants to get rid of the dual-currency
system, the increase in productivity is an indispensable engine.
That's
not the end of the measure. A company's managerial staff will receive
payment according to their fulfillment of the "general or
specific indicators, but not according to the direct parameters";
in other words, the managers are not covered by the benefits granted
to workers involved in the actual production.
According
to Granma, Deputy Minister Mateu said that "egalitarianism is
not convenient. That's something we still have to solve, because at
times there is a lot of paternalism and people don't want to look for
trouble, so they say 'I'll pay everyone the same and nobody will
complain.' But that's not fair, because while it is harmful to pay a
worker less than he deserves, it is also harmful to pay him what he
doesn't deserve." A concern comes to my mind, in the form of a
question: What will the role of management be in the assignation of
wages? According to the law, the wage proposals must be submitted to
the higher organisms for consideration. The answer to my question is
important, because it would favor (or not) a greater decentralization
of the units of production and also the ability of the units to
acquire raw materials, a permit that so far can be granted only by
the National Bank of Cuba if the amount in hard currency exceeds a
certain amount. (2)
Without
resources, there is neither production nor productivity because the
role of wage incentives is diminished.
In
my judgment, this formula of paying in accordance with productivity,
clearly a positive one, must be considered in the context of what's
happening in the country, including the decentralization in the farm
sector, the revitalization of the peoples' powers in the bases
(municipalities), the strengthening of productive bases -- especially
those that bring about a savings in importations -- and the
stimulation of workers, no longer seen as diluted within the company
but as the decisive factor in the increase of production and
productivity. Phrased more clearly, to remake and strengthen the
collective at every labor center, but from the point of view of the
key man -- each producer.
I
don't wish to close without sharing with you that, as I read the
story published in Granma, I recalled my friend and his opinions. He
is no longer employed by a labor center. Several years ago, taking
advantage of his lathe and his skill, he started making a living as a
self-employed worker. And the company lost one of its finest workers.
Manuel
Alberto Ramy is Havana bureau chief for Radio Progreso Alternativa
and editor of Progreso Semanal, the Spanish-language version of
Progreso Weekly.
(1) The mocha is a kind of machete used in farm work.
(2) Purchases that exceed US$10,000 must be approved by the National Bank of Cuba.
