President Fidel Castro announced an increase in the island's minimum wage Thursday, more than doubling salaries of nearly 1.7 million Cuban workers.
Farmhands, plumbers and other low-wage workers currently making 100 Cuban pesos (about $4.20) a month will earn 225 pesos ($9.40) starting May 1, he said.
Castro made the announcement in a televised address marking his eighth speech in the last 11 days.
At the end of last month, Castro announced increased payments for citizens on welfare. Single mothers, senior citizens without relatives, widows and the disabled are among the hundreds of thousands of Cubans who will benefit from the increase, also to take effect May 1.
The average Cuban government worker earns 300 pesos a month, or the equivalent of about $12. Salary figures can be misleading in Cuba, however, where most citizens pay no rent, education and health care are free, and the government offers heavily subsidized basic services such as utilities and transportation.
Over the past several Thursday, Castro has announced economic news, including the revaluation of the nation's two currencies and the distribution of thousands of new pressure cookers and rice steamers at subsidized prices.
The Cuban convertible peso was revaluated by 8 percent earlier this month, with the exchange rate no longer on par with the American dollar. The regular Cuban peso - a second currency used on the island - was also re-valued, by 7 percent.
The wage increase announced Thursday will cost the government nearly 1.1 billion Cuban pesos (about $44 million) annually, Castro said.