Nearly 6,500 athletes from 41 countries will participate in the Pan American Games of Lima 2019. The construction of hotels and sports facilities will generate around 50,000 jobs.
On May 21, BWI and the Federation of Civil Construction Workers in Peru (FTCCP) launched the 25 Kilos…No More! Campaign in one of the main stonemasons destined to the games with the participation of hundreds of workers.
"In Peru the weight of cement bags is 42.5 kilograms, which causes permanent injuries and health problems to the workers," said Luis Villanueva, the Deputy General Secretary of the FTCCP,
"The campaign is all about involving manufacturers, labour and health authorities, employers and workers in actions to reduce weight of cement bags and to improve workers’ life quality," said Tos Añonuevo, BWI's Global Secretary of Education who was also present at the launching ceremony.
The delegation of FTCCP and BWI held meetings with public and business authorities in the sector, such as the Minister of Labour and Employment Promotion of Peru (MTPE), Mr. Christian Sánchez Reyes. The Minister expressed his support to the initiative of the federation, since it has the common objective of protecting the health of workers. From his office, Minister Sánchez Reyes assigned one of his main advisors to work together with the federation on this issue.
Since 2012, BWI Latin America and the Caribbean has developed the campaign "25 Kg…No More! Campaign”, which aims to reduce the weight of cement bags from 42.5, 45.0 and up to 50Kg to no more than 25Kg. The campaign has gained great success in other countries, such as Uruguay, where the allowed weight of cement bags has been reduced by national decree.
"The initiative of FTCCP joins and strengthens other existing campaign initiatives in countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Colombia, Panama and others, at different levels of progress", confirmed the BWI Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean, Nilton Freitas.
The campaign is led by the Building and Wood Workers' International (BWI) together with the Federation of Civil Construction Workers in Peru (FTCCP), affiliated to the General Confederation of Workers of Peru (CGTP), with nearly 190 affiliated unions throughout the country, who represents 150 thousand workers in the sector.