Cargando...“What about us?” was the question posed by workers at Frigel, a state-owned MSME in Havana specializing in refrigeration and air conditioning services, as they discussed the disadvantage they face due to the lack of placement of recent university graduates in their company—an issue they claim is not adequately addressed in the draft legislation.
Currently, these professionals are not placed in MSMEs. The document under discussion states that the Ministry of Labor and Social Security continues to direct graduate placements to the central offices of national bodies, organizations, and entities, prioritizing strategic sectors of the economy and local development goals.
María del Carmen López, head of the Commercial Group at Frigel, spoke up:
“In essence, we are state-owned, so I don’t understand why placement preferences go to other companies. That suggests we’re not protected. But if we try to carry out other procedures, we’re told no, you’re state-owned. So it’s unclear what we actually are from a labor standpoint.”
This issue took center stage in the analysis of the important document, which will be reviewed by all labor collectives across the country until the end of November.
Moisés Gómez Vega, head of Technical Services, got straight to what he saw as the heart of the matter:
“The draft, and our experience, don’t define what we are. For some things, we’re treated as private or independent, and for others, we’re measured as state-owned. That’s wrong, because we have to follow the same laws as everyone else. The draft says MSMEs—without qualifiers—do this and that, but distinctions must be made. Sometimes we don’t even seem like an MSME, but rather a Basic Business Unit.”
Legal advisor Julia Cristina Baró raised a concern that emerged during the consultation process with workers: “How will we, as a state-owned MSME, handle payments for worker insurance in case of contingencies?”
Reinier Mirabal, general secretary of the union section, proposed including a provision that would incentivize centers to reward individuals who, upon reaching retirement age, meet certain criteria. He recalled that in the past, some sectors gave preferential hiring to the children and descendants of retirees at their parents’ workplaces.
In conclusion, attendees reaffirmed the importance of shifting from the concept of “suitability” to “demonstrated ability” in employment integration processes.
