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During 2025, Cuba recorded 664 workplace accidents that resulted in 701 injured workers and 38 fatalities, according to the Report Work Protection. Selected Indicators published by the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI).
The figure represents a reduction of 271 incidents compared to 2024, the year in which 935 accidents and 52 fatalities were recorded, and it continues the downward trend that began in 2023, when 1,498 cases were reported with 52 victims.
However, the decrease in the number of incidents has not been accompanied by a structural improvement in security conditions, and accidents persist in nearly all economic sectors of the country.
Territorial distribution: Havana accounts for nearly four out of every ten cases
The geographic distribution of accidents shows marked differences between provinces. Havana recorded 255 accidents, accounting for nearly 40% of the national total, which can be attributed to it being the province with the highest population density—housing 18% of Cuba's population—and the largest number of workplaces.
Holguín followed with 95 accidents, Santiago de Cuba with 65, Guantánamo with 39, Granma with 35, and Camagüey with 31. These three most populated provinces—La Habana, Santiago de Cuba, and Holguín—account for 37.2% of the country's population while only occupying 14.6% of the national territory.
The most affected sectors
By sector, the manufacturing industries led the number of accidents with 112 cases, followed by Public Health and Social Assistance with 93, Transportation with 71, Commerce with 53, and Hotels and Restaurants with 48.
The outlook changes when analyzing the deceased.
Construction, although not among the sectors with the highest number of accidents, recorded the greatest number of fatalities, with 10 workers losing their lives. It was followed by Electricity, Gas and Water; Commerce; and Transportation, each with five deaths.
This disparity highlights that some sectors show fewer incidents but with greater severity, due to work at heights, handling heavy equipment, or electrical installations.
Of the total of 701 injured, 488 were men (about 70%) and 213 were women, a distribution linked to the higher presence of men in high-risk sectors such as construction, mining, and transportation.
Among the female workers, the highest concentration of injuries was recorded in Public Health, Education, Hotels and Restaurants, and Commerce.
Cases that illustrate the structural pattern
Statistics have concrete faces.
On June 18th, two Labiofam workers in Villa Clara—identified as Luis Díaz "Yunior" and Eduardo—died from asphyxiation due to toxic gases while cleaning a molasses tank without safety precautions.
Days earlier, the electrician Osmani Rosales Núñez, 39 years old, died from electrocution in Cárdenas, Matanzas, while repairing a fault under extremely risky conditions.
In September 2025, Carlos Rafael López Ibarra, a 33-year-old turbine operator at the Renté thermoelectric plant, passed away after suffering burns over 89% of his body due to a steam pipe failure.
All these cases share the same denominator: deteriorated infrastructures, a shortage of protective equipment, and the absence of proper protocols.
Distrust in official figures and institutions
Independent unions question the reliability of the data from the ONEI and warn about potential underreporting.
A survey conducted between April and June 2025 by the organizations ASIC and ACTAE, involving 444 workers, revealed that 82% had never received training in occupational safety and health, 52.5% reported a lack of personal protective equipment, and 95.5% do not trust government institutions to seek support after an accident.
In 2024, the fatality rate per 1,000 injuries increased by almost 60%, rising from 33.7 in 2023 to 53.3, indicating that the accidents occurring are becoming increasingly deadly, even if they are fewer in number.
The state medium Cubadebate acknowledged that "even though the statistics at the end of 2025 show a reduction in workplace accidents compared to the previous year, we cannot overlook everything that is failing."
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