Orlando goes out of his way to take care of the workers, even their personal problems.He’s the trump card of the UBPC.«Come on, lunch is waiting for us.»He opens the dining room door.«Air conditioning and everything!» I exclaim.«I told you, at La Lucía, the worker comes first.»
Lucía boasts of her successes.Only those who deserve it get to plant, cultivate, and cut sugarcane on her fertile land, a luxury afforded by the Basic Cooperative Production Unit (UBPC), when labor is scarce in many places.
If necessary, not just anyone can join the workforce.«Those who pass the month-long probationary period and are willing to honor work ethic as the foundation for success are the ones who qualify,» boasts Orlando González Corzo, president of the UBPC in the Matanzas municipality of Colón.
Five years ago, Sergio Rodríguez had that luck.“Look how clean and germinated everything is. You see. Here we take care of the sugarcane because the bottom line is: yield equals money.”
Steady, dedicated strength is typical in La Lucía, a factor in success, says Gleybis Fijo, the economist with more than two decades of experience there, where she arrived shortly after graduating from the University of Matanzas.“I was 24 at the time.”She’s not alone.The board of directors also has tenure, not to mention the accountants.
June is the fiscal year for the UBPCs.As of the reconciliation date, profits exceed 45 million pesos, Leydis explains.While in the previous period they distributed 16 million pesos in profits and benefits of up to 260 thousand pesos to a few of the 89 employees, there is now excitement about how they will fare in times of increased expenses.
More sugarcane, more land, more income La Lucía sold its production of just over 40,000 tons (t) of sugarcane to the province of Cienfuegos and to the Jesús Rabí Sablón Moreno sugar agroindustrial company, the only one that milled sugarcane in Matanzas.«We slightly exceeded 60 tons per hectare…» Orlando notes with some dissatisfaction, recalling the record of 78.9 tons, although he consoles himself by comparing himself with similar companies, but in clear decline.
They have a close example.Two production bases near La Lucía are inefficient.“The difference is in the bosses,” someone says, while President Orlando is staring at the land he’s been requesting. A delay in delivery further hinders the desire to recover his historic production records and have more cane.
If they can supply parts with inventiveness in the workshop, how much more would the yields be with a pair of their own high-powered tractors, reflects machinery manager Abelardo Rodríguez.“If it’s a matter of money, we have it,” the economist points out, convinced that resources should be allocated to those who will get the most out of them.
