Skilled Cuban workers get pay raises

HAVANA, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- The Cuban government Thursday announced pay raises for the country's most productive, skilled and educated government workers.

The Communist Party daily newspaper said the raises will boost some government salaries by up to 50 percent, and for some people will be the first pay increases in 23 years.

Workers with masters degrees will receive a bonus of up to $4 a month, while doctors will get an extra $7, the BBC said. The average monthly salary in Cuba is $15.

Meanwhile, President Fidel Castro has blamed many of the country's woes on what he described as Cuba's new rich, namely intermediaries and independent restaurant owners who have profited from the economy's limited opening up to private enterprise.