AREQUIPA, Peru – The Cuban regime sent a brigade of linemen to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on Monday to work “on restoring the electrical networks affected by Hurricane Beryl.” This, while the electrical and infrastructure situation on the island is going through one of its worst moments.
The Cuban ambassador in Kingstown, Carlos Rodríguez Etcheverry, shared the arrival of the linemen in X (formerly Twitter), detailing that the Cuban brigade “will provide services as part of a new stage of cooperation between the two Caribbean nations.”
According to the state Latin PressThe linemen will work alongside engineers from the Cuban Electric Union (UNE), who recently arrived in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines as part of an undisclosed agreement between the local electricity company and the Cuban Electrical Engineering Services Company.
As with the export of doctors, the Cuban regime sends professionals from other fields (construction, education, engineering) to various countries, often to the detriment of the island’s own needs.
This year, despite the promises of the Castro authorities to reduce blackouts with an alleged strategy of maintaining thermoelectric plants and services, the reality has proven to be different.
Cuba’s power plants are in a state of disrepair and obsolescence. In addition, there are constant breakdowns, irregular fuel supplies and the export of professionals in the sector do not benefit the energy landscape.
For their part, the linemen in Cuba are a union that suffers from a progressive shortage of its members, due to, among other reasons, the dangerous nature of the job, the lack of working conditions and low wages.
“It’s a stressful and dangerous job. We’re always under pressure,” says Vicente, a lineman who identified himself as such. talk with CubaNet.
He said that he considers rest a luxury. “I leave my house at six in the morning and almost always come back at night. I have accumulated fatigue and that harms me,” he said.
His job prevents him from devoting time to his family and domestic commitments. Moreover, the constant risks to which he is exposed are not financially rewarded.
“The basic salary and the additional payments for danger, night work and overtime are not enough to cover household expenses. Everything is very expensive and prices keep going up (…) It is hard work and poorly paid. Many leave and few join. There are vacant positions for linemen and those of us who are here take on all the responsibility,” says Vicente.
Electrical linemen and telephone and electric pole installers are among the professions more difficult and riskyThey are faced with countless difficulties caused by shortages of materials and spare parts. They are exposed to life-threatening danger. However, their wages do not cover basic needs. This has led to a shortage of manpower, which makes the performance of those still working in this important job even more complex.
