In a bid to stem corruption and keep tighter control on hard currency, Cuba's communist government plans to slap new restrictions on workers' interactions with foreigners, mainly in the cash-cow tourism industry, according to a document obtained by reporters.
"Tourism industry workers, in their relations with foreigners inside and outside the country, must limit these to the strictly necessary and must take into account ethical, moral and professional principles," according to resolution number 10 of 2005, signed by Tourism Minister Manuel Marero.
The document, dated Jan. 19, was due to take effect 30 days later but has not yet appeared in the government gazette.
It is not known why its release was delayed but the document was leaked to international media and tourism workers say it has not taken effect.
Tourism is Cuba's top hard currency earner, one of the economy's three pillars, along with remittances from Cubans abroad and the declining sugar industry.
The government relies on hard currency to purchase food and fuel on international markets to keep the embattled economy of the island of 11 million afloat.
Cuban workers, from bartenders to brain surgeons, make roughly US$20 a month.
But bartenders and others in tourism who net tips in hard currencies by far outearn other Cubans, which can fuel resentment and arguably encourages corruption.
In early February Cuba's top prosecutor, Juan Escalona, said "we are at the most difficult moment in this clash" with corruption.
The tourism ministry says in the new rules that Cuba's workers must "maintain a conduct based on allegiance to the fatherland, respect for the constitution ... socialist law and government policy."
In addition, it says workers must "be modest, down-to-earth and maintain a personal and family lifestyle worthy of respect in the workplace and society at large" as well as "reject any offering" from foreigners.
These include "remuneration, gifts, donations, housing or personal treatment that could be construed as counter to dignity and respect, which create commitments that run counter to the healthy spirit of cooperation that should characterize relations between two parties," the document underscores.
Workers are also ordered under the rules to report to their supervisor in 72 hours or fewer anything they perceive as foreigners making inappropriate contacts with them "that might lead to links to them which are not in line with their professional positions, or which might be aimed at undermining their revolutionary morale and prestige."
Furthermore "gifts always must be handed over to the [Cuban] chief of unit, who will decide where it should go, it said.
reject personal invitations
Cuban tourism workers must "reject any invitation of a personal nature and to their own benefit, of their family members or acquaintances, made by foreign colleagues, partners, clients, suppliers, diplomats or other staff," it stresses.
"All business meetings with foreigners, whenever possible, should be carried out in the presence of a witness ... except in cases when, when overseas, it is not possible to be joined by a tourism ministry official or Cuban diplomatic mission staffer," the rules state.
`akin to apartheid'
In the past, many Cubans who left the country complained that Havana's handling of the tourism industry was akin to "apartheid" as Cubans' interactions with foreigners was limited, and Cubans did not enjoy the same rights as foreigners in hotels and on beaches.
The new measure, if it takes effect, can be expected to draw similar criticism.
STEPPING UP: Diminished US polar science presence mean opportunities for the UK and other countries, although China or Russia might also fill that gap, a researcher said The UK’s flagship polar research vessel is to head to Antarctica next week to help advance dozens of climate change-linked science projects, as Western nations spearhead studies there while the US withdraws. The RRS Sir David Attenborough, a state-of-the-art ship named after the renowned British naturalist, would aid research on everything from “hunting underwater tsunamis” to tracking glacier melt and whale populations. Operated by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), the country’s polar research institute, the 15,000-tonne icebreaker — boasting a helipad, and various laboratories and gadgetry — is pivotal to the UK’s efforts to assess climate change’s impact there. “The saying goes
Floods on Sunday trapped people in vehicles and homes in Spain as torrential rain drenched the northeastern Catalonia region, a day after downpours unleashed travel chaos on the Mediterranean island of Ibiza. Local media shared videos of roaring torrents of brown water tearing through streets and submerging vehicles. National weather agency AEMET decreed the highest red alert in the province of Tarragona, warning of 180mm of rain in 12 hours in the Ebro River delta. Catalan fire service spokesman Oriol Corbella told reporters people had been caught by surprise, with people trapped “inside vehicles, in buildings, on ground floors.” Santa Barbara Mayor Josep Lluis
Police in China detained dozens of pastors of one of its largest underground churches over the weekend, a church spokesperson and relatives said, in the biggest crackdown on Christians since 2018. The detentions, which come amid renewed China-US tensions after Beijing dramatically expanded rare earth export controls last week, drew condemnation from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who on Sunday called for the immediate release of the pastors. Pastor Jin Mingri (金明日), founder of Zion Church, an unofficial “house church” not sanctioned by the Chinese government, was detained at his home in the southern city of Beihai on Friday evening, said
TICKING CLOCK: A path to a budget agreement was still possible, the president’s office said, as a debate on reversing an increase of the pension age carries on French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday was racing to find a new prime minister within a two-day deadline after the resignation of outgoing French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu tipped the country deeper into political crisis. The presidency late on Wednesday said that Macron would name a new prime minister within 48 hours, indicating that the appointment would come by this evening at the latest. Lecornu told French television in an interview that he expected a new prime minister to be named — rather than early legislative elections or Macron’s resignation — to resolve the crisis. The developments were the latest twists in three tumultuous
RSS