Layoffs Reach Cuba's Health Sector

Layoffs Reach Cuba's Health Sector

HAVANA – Layoffs scheduled by the government of Raul Castro in the state
payroll will affect the health sector, one of the pillars of the Cuban
Revolution, but officials say physicians have nothing to worry about.

"Never will a doctor be made redundant, neither a stomach expert nor a
technician," Health Minister Roberto Morales said in comments cited
Thursday by Communist Party daily Granma.

"Those who remain available ... (on) the necessary payroll will have the
possibility to work at other centers within or outside the country
through medical collaboration," Morales said Wednesday at the 10th
Congress of the Health Workers Union in Havana.

Morales said that the health payrolls must be tailored "to fit like a
suit" at each facility, following the government policy to eliminate
500,000 state employees over the coming six months.

The 350 delegates from all over the country who are attending the
congress have been discussing "the essential transformations" that are
being made in the sector, including the "reorganization, regionalization
and compression of the health services."

The agenda for the meeting includes the analysis of the "labor
reordering" as a way to avoid "waste of human resources," as well as how
to best ensure economic efficiency and service quality, Granma said.

In addition, a more rational use of resources and greater application of
the clinical method was proposed.

According to official figures, the health care union currently has more
than 500,000 members, and some 37,000 workers are providing medical
services in 69 countries. EFE

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