Venezuela Pres. cuts work hours to save electricity

Global Business

Venezuela is one of the economies that has been hit hard by low oil prices. A drought and a heatwave aren’t making it any better. President Nicolas Maduro says he has a plan to ration energy by cutting work hours for public employees. CCTV America’s Martin Markovits has more from Caracas.

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Highlights:

  • The government announced that they would reduce the workday of public employees from eight to six hours in order to implement an electrical rationing plan. Except in key areas like food and water distribution, the financial sector, mail delivery, air-traffic controllers to name a few. Also, public entities will reduce their usage by 20 percent.
  •  The Maduro government has been reluctant to raise the price of the highly subsidize electricity for consumers. With the upcoming elections, they may fear it could spark backlash from voters already dealing with the biggest inflation rate in the world.