One worker died and another was injured in two accidents that occurred during the dismantling of the temporary structures of the Olympic and Paralympic Games 2016 that took place this August and September. With these accidents, the event reached the sad mark of 12 workers killed and 4 seriously injured.
Reuters Brasil as quoted by Rio Times reported that a worker was electrocuted in the Barra da Tijuca neighborhood where most of the sports’ structures built for the Games are concentrated and another lost his leg in the dismantling of the beach volleyball arena. It was revealed that the safety conditions of workers were seriously compromised because of the delay of the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee in payments that led to the use of low-quality equipment and the dismissal of 100 safety inspectors who were responsible for monitoring the dismantling of structures.
Since the beginning of the Campaign for Decent Work towards and beyond 2016, the Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) has warned about the conditions in the worksites of the Olympics. In addition, it presented a Health and Safety Protocol for the works of the Olympics with a number of suggestions for an integrated management to guarantee safe working conditions. On 28 July, BWI and Brazilian unions along with other partners organized a tribute to the workers victims of accidents and their families as BWI press for accountability for deaths and injuries in mega-sports events.
According to Ambet Yuson, BWI General Secretary "The Rio 2016 Organizing Committee has to take responsibility for the 12 deaths and 4 serious accidents that have happened in Rio de Janeiro, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) must ensure that this situation does not recur in the next events. We repeat our call to the international sports bodies and their contractors and partners - No more deaths in the name of sports!"