(video script EN).
I am Ambet Yuson, General Secretary of BWI Global Union.
Dear all, I am Pierre Cuppens, General secretary of CSC BIE Belgium. And chair of the BWI global cement network.
Greetings to all the cement workers around the world. I hope you are all well and safe.
In these trying times, my thoughts are with all those affected by the pandemic.This crisis has changed our lives and the lives of many workers in our sectors.
This is a difficult time for all of us in your country and around the world. This a time for unity and global solidarity across sectors and across borders.
Workers are at the forefront of social, economic, and health impacts.
It is clear that this crisis is also a fundamental occupational health and safety issue, it is also about rights and social protections. While many employees have access to telework, construction workers, whether they are national, seconded, subcontracted, migrants or cross-border are mobile,and therefore at high risk of exposure.
April 28 is International Workers' Memorial day. We pay respect to the all workers who have died at work; but also to remind us to fight and protect for the living.
Construction workers and especially subcontracted workers work daily at sites that have remained open, most of the time, most of them having no adequate and sufficient protection in this pandemic context.
With this pandemic, we are all reminded of the importance of health and safety for all the workers. Workers of the world show your solidarity on April 28.
It is high time that multinationals like LafargeHolcim start putting people before profit,
Before you divide your profit among yourselves in the upcoming shareholders meeting, please take into account, the 161 Lafargeholcim workers who died at work and the thousands of contract workers who were sent home without wages and job protection.
How many COVID-19 deaths will be added to these figures? Enough is Enough!
This is the time for solidarity. This is the time to put people before profit.
Protect Workers! Protect Workers! Stop COVID 19! Stop COVID-19 People before profit. Thank you