A Cuban professional who worked in a refinery in Alberta, Canada, claims that he had to hand over between 80% and 90% of his salary to the authorities in Havana.
MADRID, Spain.- A Cuban professional who worked in the province of Alberta, Canada, in a joint venture between Cuba’s state mining industry and the Canadian private company Sherritt International, denounced that between 80% and 90% of his salary was withheld by the Government of the Island while he was hired in that country. His testimony was spread by CBCNewsa medium that decided to hide his identity to avoid possible reprisals against his family in Cuba.
As he explained, his contract included an income close to $100,000 per year. However, upon arriving in Canada he was informed that he had to transfer most of that salary to the Cuban authorities through his supervisors. He assured that the Cuban workers “worked like any Canadian,” but they received only a fraction of the payment deposited by the Canadian company.
The worker reported that, faced with the loss of most of his salary, he and other employees turned to low-cost stores and second-hand markets to cover their basic needs. He also noted that there were explicit instructions not to establish personal ties with Canadian citizens and to avoid publicly commenting on the conditions of the contract, due to the risk of “the embassy discovering it.”
A researcher consulted by CBC placed this case within a broader pattern of state control over the income of Cuban professionals hired abroad. He explained that, for many of these workers, the possibility of claiming basic labor rights is limited, and that salary withholding operates as a mechanism of pressure and subordination.
Cuban employees maintain that Sherritt International paid full salaries, but that it was supervisors sent by Havana who demanded the delivery of most of that income. The Canadian company stated that it was not aware of any wage forfeiture scheme.
Neither the Cuban Government nor its embassy in Canada responded to the media’s questions. Canadian authorities indicated that they have strengthened procedures to detect labor abuses in international hiring, although they did not specify whether there is any investigation related to this joint venture.
The complaint joins others made in recent years by Cuban workers deployed abroad, who describe contracting systems controlled by the State and limitations on their labor, salary and mobility rights.
Last September, another testimony collected by the organization Archivo Cuba put the relationship between the Canadian Sherritt International and the Cuban regime. The complaint pointed to a labor exploitation scheme that had operated for years in Sherritt’s joint ventures with CubaNiquel, both in The Bahamas and Canada, within the framework of what was presented as “labor and internationalist missions.”
The former employee, a qualified professional sent to work at New Providence Metal Marketing, Inc., in Nassau, reported that the Cubans were subjected to a forced labor regime. Among the practices noted, the confiscation of up to 95% of their income, restrictions on movement and personal relationships, the obligation to attend political meetings and interviews with State Security, as well as the prohibition of returning to the Island if they abandon the mission, stand out.
According to the complaint, the salaries were deposited in Royal Bank of Canada accounts in the Bahamas, but the majority had to be transferred to an account in Havana managed by the International Financial Bank, an institution linked to the military conglomerate GAESA. Workers could retain just 500 Canadian dollars per month (about 388 USD), of which 150 were retained in Cuba. With the remainder—around 262 USD—they had to cover living expenses in a country with one of the highest costs of living in the Caribbean.
