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11 July, 2001Six workers at the Alumar aluminium plant suffered injuries requiring hospitalisation.
BRAZIL: An accident occurred at the Alumar Aluminium Company in São Luís, Brazil on the afternoon of July 6, 2001, resulting in six workers being so seriously injured that they had to be hospitalised. The full extent of their injuries, as well as the cause and circumstances of the accident are not known because the plant's management has refused to provide any information to Sindmetal, the trade union representing the workers at the refinery.
In addition to this lack of cooperation on the part of management, union officials are being threatened by armed security guards, and the hospital staff has been instructed by Alumar not to give any information regarding the injuries to the union.
Alumar Aluminium Company is a part-owned subsidiary of both Alcoa and Alcan. The IMF is writing to all its affiliates requesting protest letters be sent to the CEOs of both companies and to Brazil's president, prime minister and minister of labour, calling for an urgent enquiry into the causes of the accident and into Alumar's attempt to prevent public knowledge of the accident.
In its own letters to Alcoa and Alcan and to the Brazilian government, the IMF is strongly encouraging the adoption at Alumar of an adequate occupational health and safety policy, with an active health and safety committee comprised equally of management and trade union representatives.
Brazil has ratified a number of ILO Conventions related to occupational health and safety, and the OECD's Guidelines for Multinational Companies requires all MNCs such as Alcoa and Alcan to respect fundamental human and workers' rights and to provide a good example of corporate behaviour wherever they operate.
In addition to this lack of cooperation on the part of management, union officials are being threatened by armed security guards, and the hospital staff has been instructed by Alumar not to give any information regarding the injuries to the union.
Alumar Aluminium Company is a part-owned subsidiary of both Alcoa and Alcan. The IMF is writing to all its affiliates requesting protest letters be sent to the CEOs of both companies and to Brazil's president, prime minister and minister of labour, calling for an urgent enquiry into the causes of the accident and into Alumar's attempt to prevent public knowledge of the accident.
In its own letters to Alcoa and Alcan and to the Brazilian government, the IMF is strongly encouraging the adoption at Alumar of an adequate occupational health and safety policy, with an active health and safety committee comprised equally of management and trade union representatives.
Brazil has ratified a number of ILO Conventions related to occupational health and safety, and the OECD's Guidelines for Multinational Companies requires all MNCs such as Alcoa and Alcan to respect fundamental human and workers' rights and to provide a good example of corporate behaviour wherever they operate.