A government study of about 2,000 Cuban state businesses found that 60 per cent of employees came late, left early or otherwise shirked their duties, official media reported.

The labour ministry analysed 2,042 state-run companies in May and June and detected "26,622 violations of labour discipline," according to the Communist Party newspaper Granma.

It's part of a push by President Raul Castro to improve productivity on an island where many government workers perform lackadaisically, due to low pay and labour laws that make it tough to punish or dismiss.

Late for work

Nearly half the cases involved employees who arrived late and about a fifth featured those who took too much time for lunch or other meal breaks.

Leaving early was a problem 10 per cent of the time, while state workers engaged in "unauthorised activities" in five per cent of cases.

About four per cent of the cases involved employees who simply abandoned their posts without explanation.

The report did not divulge how companies were chosen or how representative they were.

Stealing government goods for resale

It also did not address another workplace problem the government has complained about in the past: state employees who steal government goods to sell on the black market.

Cuba's command economy allows private enterprise only by special license, meaning nearly everyone works for the state - here monthly salaries average 414 pesos - a little less than US$20 - though the communist system provides free health care, education through college and food rations.

Raul Castro, who succeeded his brother Fidel nearly a year ago, has warned that such a high level of government subsidies are unsustainable unless productivity increases.

Cubans across the island complain that poor public transportation keeps them from getting anywhere on time - especially work.