The 'busy' season of electricians

Hot weather, demand for air conditioner purchase and installation increases. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Work for oneelectronics supermarketin Vinh city for 3 years now with a stable salary of 5 million VND/month, Mr. Le Van Ngo's main job is to install and maintain air conditioners for customers and also deliver goods to customers.

“At other times of the year, work is quite leisurely, mainly shipping. During hot weather, just installing new air conditioners and maintaining air conditioners for customers under warranty is already too much to handle. The salary during these peak months remains the same, with only an additional 15,000 VND/day for water. Therefore, in addition to the 8 hours of work according to the labor contract for this supermarket, I take advantage of overtime to work for customers in need.

Therefore, electricians at electronics supermarkets also have to run around to install for customers. Photo: Thanh Phuc

At the beginning of the hot season, customers call continuously but there is no time or energy to make it. At noon at 11am, I eat instant noodles and bread and then go to work until 2pm to work for the supermarket; in the afternoon at 5:30pm I work until 10pm to make up for it, earning an extra 500,000-700,000 VND per day from this extra work," said Mr. Ngo.

For nearly a month now, 6 workers at an electrical refrigeration facility on Ton That Tung Street (Vinh City) have had to work overtime, working at full capacity but still cannot meet the needs of customers. Mr. Nguyen Huu Trung, ownerrefrigeration facilityThis facility said that on average, each day, the facility receives 30-35 phone calls from customers to schedule air conditioner repair and maintenance, and the workload of the technicians is 3 times higher than before.

Refrigeration repair facilities have to mobilize employees to work overtime, working until 10-11pm. Photo: Thanh Phuc

“Normally, air conditioners are only used during the hot season and are left “idle” for the rest of the season, so they accumulate dust and mold. Therefore, the need to clean the machine before operating is high; in addition, many machines have broken circuits, condensers, evaporators, run out of gas, etc., but when the weather is hot, they need to be turned on to know they are broken. Therefore, at the beginning of the hot season, the need for repair and maintenance increases dramatically. Especially this summer, restaurants and hotels are back in operation, the need for air conditioner maintenance is even greater, so our brothers work overtime, working at full capacity but still cannot finish the work.”

According to Mr. Trung, each day a skilled worker can repair 5-7 air conditioners, the average salary received on peak days is more than 1 million VND. However, the work is extremely hard. In addition to having technical skills and proficiency, it is also necessary to be healthy because working continuously from early morning until 11-12 pm is normal. Especially for restaurants, hotels, schools... all schedule air conditioner repair and cleaning after hours. Besides, the working environment is also very dangerous.

Earning millions of dong every day, the work of these workers is extremely hard and they face many dangers. Photo: Thanh Phuc

“The tools that the workers bring with them, such as spare parts, folding ladders, and air conditioner hot and cold units, weigh hundreds of kilograms and must be carried up to high-rise buildings in several batches for construction. Under the 39-40 degree Celsius sun, workers often have to hang on rooftops and buildings to disassemble, repair, and chisel walls for installation. They also encounter many occupational accidents such as cuts, falling off ladders, electric shock, and heatstroke...”, said Mr. Pham Van Hung, an air conditioner repairman.

High demand, butcleaning, maintenance, repair pricesnot increase compared to normal days because "there is a common floor price, taking more will lose customers". Accordingly, the price for cleaning the machine is 150,000-200,000 VND/machine, gas refilling is 250,000-350,000 VND/machine, repairing damaged motherboards and capacitors is about 350,000-450,000 VND/machine, damaged compressor is about 1.5-3.5 million VND/machine, damaged hot fan, cold fan is about 500,000-700,000 VND/machine. The cost of new installation and installation is 350,000 VND/machine for machines under 3m of copper pipe, the price will be higher over 3m.

Prices for air conditioner installation, cleaning, and maintenance services during the hot season remain the same, with only slight increases for some services. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Not only in urban areas, towns, and villages, but also in rural areas, installing and repairing refrigeration equipment is one of the "profitable" jobs during the hot season. Because people's living standards are increasing, the weather is extremely hot, so almost every family has air conditioners installed, small families have 1-2, some families have 3-5 air conditioners installed in their homes. Therefore, the need for repair and maintenance increases, and refrigeration technicians have more work and income.

To welcome the hot season and meet customer demand, refrigeration facilities mobilize more workers, ready to work overtime and work at full capacity during peak days.