Every month, the members of the economic department of Sancti Spíritus face “old-fashioned” payments, with pencil and paper
14ymedio, Mercedes García, Sancti Spíritus, 18 September 2024 — A dilapidated “Frankenstein-style” computer, obsolete programs and a terrible internet connection are just the tip of the iceberg of the problems suffered by the Music and Entertainment Marketing Company in Sancti Spíritus. The bancarización [banking reform] link in the province has been broken on the weakest side: the wages of workers, who rarely receive what the State owes them on time.
The problem is not only the technological obsolescence of the company, but also its “historic debts” – 658,000 pesos of overdue wages – an even more complex panorama since mandatory electronic payments were decreed last year. Despite the fact that the musicians had to have bank cards processed by the entity, it has not even met that basic requirement. For those who do have them, payment rarely arrives on time. The summary of one of the employees is pithy: “We are always uncertain of when we will get paid.”
According to the Sancti Spíritus newspaper, Escambray, the company hit rock bottom in 2022 and since then has not raised its head, “despite showing signs of economic recovery,” which the newspaper does not define. Today, however, it can barely support its administrative expenses and pay what the contracts stipulate.
Everything has been “stumbles and falls” in the Marketing Company’s attempts to execute the State’s guidelines
These factors meant that, rather than arriving late to bancarización, it never had a chance of taking the leap requested by the Central Bank of Cuba. Since then, everything has been “stumbles and falls” in its attempts to execute the State’s directions. To give an idea, the newspaper mentions the cas