More than 400,000 Cubans working remotely

HAVANA, Cuba, Aug 4 (ACN) Working remotely, extended in Cuba from the conditions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, is currently used by some 411,098 employees on the island, based on the nature of the activity or position they perform.

This was confirmed to Granma newspaper by Ingrid Travieso Rosabal, director of Employment of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MTSS), adding that of that figure (at the end of June) 22 thousand 204 perform their functions in the modality of teleworking, 245 thousand 659 at home, and 143 thousand 235 in the field.

The directive clarified that although these variants imply working outside the center, teleworking requires connectivity, while telecommuting lacks it, so the employee must go to his center to deliver the results of his work.

Not all provinces are implementing telecommuting at the same pace, for example, Matanzas (4 percent), Cienfuegos (7 percent), Mayabeque and Camagüey (9 percent), Holguín (11 percent), Isla de la Juventud (13 percent), Artemisa and Villa Clara (15 percent) are below the national average, said Travieso Rosabal.

The MTSS, he said, is currently working on identifying the potential of positions that can be performed remotely, as well as the number of workers who are likely to be employed in these modalities.

Based on the results obtained in the study carried out jointly with the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Havana, the MTSS is working on the design of a regulation for the implementation of these forms of work organization, with the aim of promoting and extending their use and achieving greater homogeneity in their implementation, concluded the official.