Private workers who lease state-owned stores in Central Havana are experiencing martyrdom in these days of intense blackouts due to the imposition of working without electricity. “This is a lack of respect for the amount of money that we generate,” one of the self-employed complained this Saturday morning. while fanning himself to relieve the heat .
Users have to use flashlights on their cell phones to be able to check the merchandise and count the money. “In order to pay I’ve had a lot of work. I had to turn on my mobile to tell the owner of the business where I bought some shoes the money,” explains Xiomara.
“This is a cave, these poor people are working here without a fan and so are we, the poor customers, that every time I enter one of these stores I come out dripping with sweat,” adds the woman, who had to enter several stores to be able to determine which shoes to buy.
“It’s to save electricity, they say”, “It’s the order from above”, “There is no power because they turn off the switch”, are some of the responses that salespeople repeat the most when faced with anger or concern from customers. The affected stores are located mainly on Neptuno, Galiano and Monte streets.
“I just entered a store and it’s a sauna,” said a young man who tried to buy some accessories for his cell phone but gave up in the dark and heat
“I just entered a store and it’s a sauna,” said a young man who tried to buy some accessories for his cell phone but gave up due to the darkness and the heat that is perceived in the leased spaces.
In contrast, the self-employed who are working in private premises do not suffer from this measure. “Everyone has their table lights on, with fans connected, everything is well lit, the trouble is these state-owned stores,” a vendor reports from the area.
But it’s not just about heat and darkness, health problems proliferate where people congregate in poorly ventilated spaces. In recent days, reports of respiratory and gastrointestinal viruses have also increased and people fear staying for long minutes in crowded spaces without air conditioning.
“They should pay them a premium for dangerousness,” warned a client this Friday to the sellers of a privately run downtown location on the corner of Neptuno and Galiano. “I’ve only been here for a moment and I came out short of breath, I don’t know how they can spend hours in here, really.”
Last April, the Government approved the lease of premises state that were in disuse to self-employed and cooperatives. Among the objectives of the measure is “increasing participation in the economy, promoting development, diversification of production, production chains and economic and social well-being”, includes the resolution of the Ministry of Internal Trade. Then it became clear that it is the state company that manages the establishment that is bidding.
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