Dubai: Times on the socialist island of Cuba are changing. Normally known for its conciliatory stance on the system of state-guaranteed jobs and social security payments, the country's leader Raul Castro recently scared his fellow-countrymen by publicly talking about the unthinkable in a TV speech.

In a marginal note, Castro remarked that at closer sight it might be possible that one out of five members of the island's state-controlled workforce may be dispensable.

This came as a shock for Cuban workers, of whom almost everybody is employed by the state — as one of the pillars of the revolution in 1958 has been the state-guaranteed workplace for every citizen.

However, salaries were low, but at least the job was secure. Ask a Cuban and he will explain his approach: "The state pretends to pay us money, and we pretend to work."

Castro also was quoted by Cuba's state-owned newspaper Granma that he is "aware of the fact that hundreds of thousands of useless posts are listed on the payrolls".

He also expressed his concern about the Cuban population's dedication to work. "If the people don't feel the necessity to earn their livelihood because they are protected by unduly paternalistic and irrational provisions, we will never awake the passion for work," he argued.