Construction workers in Santiago de Cuba

This photo shows construction workers on a building site in Santiago de Cuba. They are building a new apartment building for Air Cubana workers (the Australia/NZ work brigade was helping). Construction work in Cuba is very different than in New Zealand, there is little of the machinery such as bulldozers and diggers that we are used to. The only machinery to be found was this single jackhammer which was used to assist digging in some of the harder ground. Most of the construction is done the old-fashioned way, using a pick and shovel to dig the holes, and bricks and mortar to build the walls.

Work conditions are different, too. There is none of the safety equipment that we are used to in New Zealand. The man with the jackhammer has no eye-protection to prevent little chips of dirt or stone getting into his eyes, and there is no air protection or proper work boots (as the enlargement on the right clearly illustrates). Safety equipment is difficult (and expensive) to obtain, hence there is none available to be given out.