Cuba approves new measures for private cooperatives

Cuba approves new measures for private cooperatives
Published June 01, 2015 EFE

The Cuban government has approved new measures to consolidate the
private cooperatives that have developed as part of President Raul
Castro's reforms, but it is in no hurry to dramatically expand the
sector, state-run media reported Monday.

"The cooperatives have an experimental character and although their
implementation is moving forward we have no reason to accelerate the
pace. We have to get the rhythm of events," Castro said last Friday
during a Cabinet meeting.

To improve the functioning of this form of management, the government
will expand from three months to a year the maximum time within which to
hire workers, although employees of this kind will not be allowed to
exceed 10 percent of the cooperatives partners.

Since they began to be allowed in 2012, 498 private non-agricultural
cooperatives have been created in Cuba, of which 347 are still operating.

The authorities are presently studying 205 proposals to create new
cooperatives.

The government acknowledges that there are negatives that have burdened
the operation of this experimental private cooperative plan, including
bureaucratic red tape, access to supplies and the trend toward
increasing prices for products and services.

The government decided to extend the experimental program but under the
principle of "not making the creation of cooperatives accessible to
all," given that the priority "must be to consolidate those that exist
and move forward in a gradual way." EFE

Source: Cuba approves new measures for private cooperatives | Fox News
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