The workers are warning about the death of several of their colleagues in the works, and they state that their deaths were "covered". They also denounce the lack of support by the union of the sector and the threats they receive by their superiors.

In the construction works of Jirau and Santo Antonio dams, on Madeira River, in Rondonia State, workers also went on strike in the past days.
At least 80 per cent out of the 7000 workers in Belo Monte have joined the struggle, according to information provided by the Movimiento Xingu Vivo para Siempre, a group of social organizations of Altamira and the region that will be impacted by Belo Monte who opposes the installation of the dam on Xingu River. The strike affected on Saturday all units.

The Belo Monte Construction Consortium, made up by public and private companies in charge of the building of the dam informed on March 28th that the death of Francisco Orlando Rodrigues in the works was not related to the strike. This was included in their public statement, which also expressed their condolences for the death of the worker and was published in a blog about the company sponsored by one of the companies that is part of the consortium, Norte Energia.
Rodrigues was 34 years old and worked for Dandolini and Peper company, one of the companies hired for “vegetal suppression” tasks. It was reported that he was hit by a tree.

The information by the consortium contradicts the information provided by the Movimiento Xingu Vivo para Siempre in their website, after talking to mobilized workers. The safety conditions of workers and the company’s action appear as the main issues of concern. “There have been other deaths in the past, and nobody found out about them”, denounced one of the workers. The company “sends the body to the family, because they don’t live here, and nobody finds out”. They cover the death. But this time, they couldn’t do it because the worker was from Altamira, he added.

The demands by the mobilized workers include, for instance, salary improvements, visits to family every three months and not every six (when they are workers from other regions), food improvements, capacity building for workers, health plans, extra-time payment and dignified transport conditions, among other things. “If these claims are not addressed, then the strike will continue”, reads the end of a document containing the demands of workers.

The workers on strike are denouncing that the Heavy Construction Workers Union of Para does not support them and that they even consider them “lazy” for going on strike. They add that the Union does not ensure that the agreements signed with the consortium are respected and that it hasn’t tried to reverse the situation of the workers fired in previous strikes. That’s why the mobilized workers are gathering signatures so that the Heavy Construction Workers Union of Para no longer represents them.

The workers fear losing their jobs. “The managers have told us that if we went on strike we would be fired, as it has already happened”, denounced one of the workers. The workers were filmed and photographed by their superiors during the protests and they warn that the company is already using this footage to identify the main leaders.

Photo: http://www.xinguvivo.org.br