The declining Cuban harvests are the culprit
Employees of the fruit processing factory, disappointed with low salaries, denounce poor management by managers
HAVANA TIMES – The workers of the Jobabo fruit and vegetable processing factory in Las Tunas are, frankly, disappointed. After a million-dollar investment to renew the industry, the tiny volume of crops forces production to stop frequently, directly affecting their salaries.
The workers tell the official newspaper Periódico 26 that the factory is plummeting, just three months after starting to operate, due to the “bad manners” of the leaders. According to the media, the municipality had not received an investment of that magnitude in the agricultural sector for a decade, but the lack of raw material forces the factory to work intermittently.
In the month of August, for example, the municipality reported the collection of 3.9 tons of mango, 9.5 tons of guava and 13.8 of papaya for the production of jams, sweets and pulp. In an industry with a processing capacity of eight tons per day, the raw material barely lasted three and a half days.
The employees, who understand that “if they don’t produce they don’t earn,” are not satisfied with the factory’s management and demand more transparency with the company’s accounts, which decide, in short, how much they earn.
“When we have the raw material we try very hard. We come to work at 7:00 in the morning and leave at any time in the night. We sell to the countryside, Zabalo, Palo Seco, all with the aim of meeting the required income, but when it comes to our salaries, we don’t get what we think we should,” said Maribel Contreras, one of the workers, who complains that only one of the three paychecks she has received so far has been complete.