Cuban authorities praise teleworking  

Havana, July 2 (RHC) -- Cuban authorities on Tuesday praised the implementation of teleworking and telecommuting as a way of supporting the country's economic development.

An article published on Tuesday in Granma newspaper makes reference to this and reviews the development of this modality in Cuba.

The text recalls that in the 2023 annual balance report of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MTSS), one of the projections was to consolidate the use of telecommuting and teleworking, with the identification of positions that allow the use of this modality.

However, the 2024 report does not allude to this issue with the same force, either as a projection or with concrete work results, the newspaper warns.

Granma points out that the Cuban Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero, recently stressed the need to apply this type of work wherever it is possible and controllable.

The head of state pointed out that it is a question of distance working, teleworking, job rotation and shift work in offices.

In this sense, the Minister of Labor and Social Security, Marta Elena Feito Cabrera, has repeatedly pointed out in her X account that it is necessary to consider telework and distance work as a permanent form and not as an alternative for emergency periods during energy crises or the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the National Statistics Office (ONEI), more than 4.5 million people were   employed in the economy in 2022, while the MTSS reported that about half a million employees were teleworking or telecommuting in 2021.

Given the benefits of these employment modalities in the current domestic conditions, it is necessary to promote them even more, the article notes.

Since 2013, Law 116 of the Labor Code has established that the parties in the workplace must agree on the timing, duration and structure of the working day. Meanwhile, Resolution 71 of 2021 establishes a regulation on teleworking and telecommuting.

 According to Ariel Fonseca, Director of Employment at MTSS, in his recent appearance on the television program "Cuadrando la Caja", both are flexible forms of work organization because they do not depend on the presence of the worker in the work institution.

He explained that, in teleworking, the employee does his work at home or in another place outside the institution, but the communication, the interaction with the institution is done through technological means.

On the other hand, in telecommuting, the employees are outside the entity, but do not depend on technology and, therefore, with more frequency they visit the workplace where they are employed. (Source: Prensa Latina)