Misterbonkers - normally the winchman will have a flyaway option or will be on or close to the ground such that the cable can be cut if an emergency occurs.
It is very unusual for a situation to occur when any failure will result in certain death for the winchman - but that is what you are subjecting the power-line worker to every time.
Apparently we value life in civilised society, something that doesn't happen in many parts of the world, so someone has to regulate and prevent people being exploited for the sake of a few dollars.
The sort of thing I might expect to see in India isn't what I would expect to see in the USA.