CAMAGÜEY.- It seems, and it is, a common day of work, although it's already past ten o'clock. The country's energy contingency has ignited not only ideas, but also nights in many companies in the province.
Labor groups, far from idly waiting for economic booms, choose to unite will and disposition in order to overcome obstacles, stay active, and join the urgent contribution of goods and services for the population.
Of course, the deployment requires a measured use of human capital, and creating the best possible conditions for the worker, amid limitations with transportation and food.
Photos: Leandro Pérez Pérez/ Adelante
“UNVEILED” IN THE MAMBI…
The great ship is a boiling room. In the El Mambí Base Business Unit (UEB), belonging to the Provincial Company of Canned and Vegetables of Camagüey, several positions keep their workers in continuous work.
This is what happens in the area destined for the production of mayonnaise, where eight workers and a shift manager are in charge of preparing the delicious food, of multiple uses in Creole dishes, as a component of pasta and for snacks. Nimble hands break the eggs with enviable speed; pour them into buckets, prior to their subsequent mixing with the oil in pans that give it the final "blow".
Daysi Céspedes, production assistant, is one of the many present at the factory at an ideal time for home rest: “We entered shortly after six in the afternoon, and there is no time to leave. It all depends on the availability of raw material, and as you see --- she's aiming for a stack of eggs ---, we have work to do for a long time”, she says, and she shows a discreet smile.
IT IS NOT A COMMON SCHEDULE
“At other times it has been done. Now we have raw material, and although the schedule is complicated, we are producing”. Daysi, without stopping her work, recognizes the effort made at the center to ensure the return home, and the guarantee of a snack according to the occasion.
Ernesto Fernández, the shift manager, stated that they are working hard. “Since the need to use the night shift was reported, the collective responded. And everyone is fighting, for doing things well.”
“This is a good group, and people responded, because they like to work and there is a lot to do. That, logically, keeps us incentivized, because we produce food for the people at the same time that we benefit economically.”
A fragrant stream of guava pulp, at a temperature of 90 degrees, goes down a metal tube, filling 20-liter jars. You have to take extreme precautions. The smallest carelessness can cause burns.
These days do not take Georgina Lago by surprise. She has been in the industry for several years and, at other times, for example, "at the peak of the mango, we had to be here, even for several days."
Next to her, the young Yasmani García, hired as an operator, states: “the important thing is to produce”.
Solving a momentary mechanical problem, the mangoes begin to slide on the long mat, which in a short time will turn into a thick pulp, with various subsequent uses.
"In the last few days we have processed about 500 tons between El Mambí and Camalote, badly hit by power cuts," reported Rugni Díaz Duro, director of the canning institution in the province.
“This performance has allowed us to gradually recover our commitments, and in previous days we managed to produce bottled nectars and fried sauces in five-liter jugs, both with great acceptance. People have responded, and the results of these days have been seen. We know that we have a high commitment to bring more food to the people. That encourages us, and a lot, ” he said.
AN ELITE FACTORY…
Not a few affirm that the vinegar from the UEB Elite enjoys justified prestige, and not only because it is one of the three existing in Cuba. Its multiple uses make it an almost obligatory presence in Cuban cuisine and in times of various constraints, the factory from Camagüey looks for ways to guarantee its production for the different markets.
The engineer Kenia González Pérez, its director, highlights the prevailing enthusiasm. “We arrive at night and leave at first light the next day. There is a good general atmosphere, and that allows us to make a lot of progress in the plans”.
The numbers reflect the progress. At the end of May, the plan marked 14,600 packages (six containers in each one), and it was possible to close with 14,642, which together with the 17,536 delivered in bulk, raised the amount reached to 191,380 liters of the desired dressing.
Despite the many inconveniences derived from technological aging, they managed to blow 171,025 bottles of the one-liter format, just over 21 000 on what was planned, which translated into a salary benefit for those who are in charge of this work, covered by the piecework payment system.
Several agreed that this schedule is comfortable and profitable for them, since a better performance of the day is achieved. With the "exercise" of previous months, in June the conditions were created to assume, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, the productive cycle, which requires stringing together essential areas such as fermentation, clarification and filtering.
And although now they do not have the traditional line of dry wine in their portfolio, they are already "cooking" new uses for their leading product, and ensuring that it continues in the Elite of the country, with better versions.
The provision, the directive referred, is to sustain the alternative until the energy situation is normalized. "In our workers there is understanding, and interest in maintaining this pace as long as it is necessary," she added.
They are not solitary beings. They have left their loved ones at home, many times when there is still no electricity, or they have just started housework. Today, for many of our groups, the nights do not go out. They hug each other in the morning.
- Translated by Linet Acuña Quilez