VALE FERTILIZERS FIRES WORKERS, including a HEALTH AND SAFETY COMMITTEE MEMBER, and a worker ON MEDICAL LEAVE

Source: Sindiquimica-PR
 
After the collective bargaining agreement was signed - in which workers' resistance prevented the removal of historical clauses - the company director, as a way of  retaliating against workers who had demonstrated in meetings or at the factory gate during the negotiations, harasses them, and fires them.

Thus, even with a reduced number of operators coerced by management to, work up to 16 hours (confirmed by assessments of the supervisor's work SRTE-PR), Vale Fertilizers, in an attack on union representation, fired 4 workers, 1  on medical leave, 1 health and safety committee member indicated by the company and others with 25 years of experience. Since the beginning of negotiations (nov/2011), 12 have been fired, 6 have received warnings and 16 have been harassed.  Of these, 5 have already been dismissed. It’s the largest number of layoffs since the company was privatized in 1993.

The humiliation and torture at the time of dismissal were such that in one case it even caused an accident with the employee to be fired, - and he had medical restrictions. This employee, after treatment at the hospital and with medical certification, was forced to return to the factory by officials who accompanied him and was only released after signing his letter of resignation.

The union rejects what is happening and asks all unions and NGOs to denounce what is happening at the Vale unit in Araucaria Parana, with a copy to the chair of Vale Fertilizers:

eduardo.bartolomeo @ vale.com;

Djalma. barbosa@vale.com

and the Vale executives:

maria.gurgel @ vale.com;

murilo.ferreira @ vale.com;

vânia.somavilla @ vale.com

 

For further information:

 
Sindiquimica-PR 

Phone: +55 41 3327 3458 

www.sindiquimicapr.com.br
sindiquimica.pr@gmail.com

Protestors Target Mining Giant Vale in Brazil

 

Source: International Rivers

 

Press Release

Activists attend Rio shareholder meeting, call out company's severe labor, human rights and environmental violations

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – On Wednesday over 150 demonstrators from communities and workers affected by the operations of Brazilian multinational giant Vale staged a protest at its corporate headquarters in downtown Rio de Janeiro, coinciding with an annual shareholders meeting. Using megaphones to denounce the social and environmental consequences of Vale's mining and hydropower projects from the Brazilian Amazon to Canada, protesters laid out a trail of red paint along the sidewalk at the building's entrance, symbolizing over 100 victims of accidents along Vale's Carajás Railway in Northern Brazil and other fatalities related to the company's notoriously unsafe working conditions.

Following protests and the shareholder meeting, social movements and NGOs linked to the International Network of People Affected by Vale launched an alternative 2011 "Unsustainability Report" at a press conference, presented as a "shadow document" to the company's official sustainability report.

Vale has grown to become one of the most powerful players in the global mining industry and has come under increasing scrutiny from an international network of human rights, labor and environmental activists. Last January, Vale won the Public Eye Award, known as the "Nobel Prize of Shame" in the corporate world, for the company's record of environmental destruction, social impacts, and labor violations, surpassing contenders such as Tepco, responsible for the nuclear disaster in Fukushima.

While a street demonstration ensued outside Vale's headquarters, six directors of civil society groups participated in the annual shareholders meeting, drawing attention to the gap between corporate discourse on social and environmental responsibility and violations of labor regulations, human rights and environmental legislation. Andressa Caldas, director of the NGO Global Justice, criticized the expropriation and compulsory displacement of over 1,300 families in Moatize, Mozambique as a result of Vale's mammoth Moma mining project, contrasting the company's actions to its discourse regarding so-called "promotion of community development."

Brent Millikan of International Rivers called for the immediate divestment of Vale's 9% stake in Norte Energia, the consortium responsible for the highly controversial Belo Monte hydroelectric dam in the Brazilian Amazon, due to the enormous economic, legal and reputational risks involved.

Danilo Chammas, a lawyer from Justiça nos Trilhos, a network of communities affected by Vale's Carajás mines in northern Brazil, called attention to the rising number of deaths and serious injuries related to mining and railroad operations in the region. Gerson Castellano, director of the Petrochemical Workers' Association in Paraná state, presented data on the growing number of work-related accidents and conflicts with unions and employee representatives. Also present at the shareholders meeting, Carolina Campos of the NGO 4 Cantos called on Vale to abandon plans to develop a huge mining project in Minas Gerais state, in one of the last pristine areas of Brazil's Atlantic Forest, Serra Gandarela, where a proposal to create a national park is under consideration by the federal government.

According to NGO participants in the shareholder meeting, there were signs that Vale is willing to establish a dialogue on social and environmental responsibility. However, many questions remained unanswered, such as the criteria used by Vale to justify its decision to purchase a major stake in Belo Monte. According to Caldas, the lack of robust analysis of social and environmental risk has led in involvement in boondoggles such as the TKCSA mining project in Rio de Janeiro. In answer to questions about the project, Vale General Counsel Clovis Torres stated that Vale disagrees with the policies of TKSCA, have has no power over management, since it is a minority shareholder. When asked why Vale didn't simply divest, Torres claimed "nobody wants to buy our shares."

While maintaining the same basic structure as the Vale's official sustainability official report, that follows the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative of the UN Global Compact, the "Unsustainability Report" presents facts and figures regarding such issues as labor relations, occupational health, communities, emissions and waste management. Regarding environmental issues, the report highlights a significant increase in deforestation related to Vale's operations in the Amazon, as well as an increase in greenhouse gas emissions of 70% between 2007 and 2010; during the same period, 76 million tons of liquid effluents and 446,000 tons of solid waste were generated.

In relation to worker and public safety in Vale's mining operations, the report notes 11 deaths and 124 serious accidents along the Carajás Railroad. The report also argues that reductions in investments in worker safety were directly related to accidents that killed two Canadian workers last year at Vale's Sudbury mine.

Vale Voted World’s Worst Corporation

Source: USW News http://www.usw.ca/media/news/releases?id=0728

TORONTO, 27 January, 2012 - Brazilian multinational Vale is a worthy recipient of the 2012 Public Eye People's Choice Award for the world's worst company, the United Steelworkers (USW) says.

The award was presented today in Davos, Switzerland, where corporate chieftains and political leaders are meeting for the annual World Economic Forum.

Nobel economics laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz presented the award on behalf of its organizers - the Berne Declaration and Greenpeace Switzerland.

Stiglitz also called on multinational corporations to go "beyond the minimum required by the law to protect the environment, to treat workers with decency and fairness, not to exploit all the advantages that asymmetries in bargaining might afford."

"Vale certainly is a deserving recipient of this international recognition," said Ken Neumann, United Steelworkers National Director for Canada.

"In the short time since it ventured into Canada in 2006 with its takeover of Inco Ltd., Vale has provoked unprecedented labour disputes, attacked working standards, worsened labour relations, slashed jobs, and announced harmful plant closures," Neumann said.

"What's more, Vale's record in other parts of the world is even worse," he added.

More than 88,000 people around the world voted on the 2012 Public Eye award. The award competition is organized by the Berne Declaration and Greenpeace Switzerland to choose the worst case of contempt for the environment and human rights.

"This vote demonstrates the increasing global awareness of Vale's terrible record of destroying communities and the environment while systematically violating workers' rights," said United Steelworkers International President Leo Gerard.

Last December, the Ontario Labor Relations Board found that Vale committed unfair labor practices during a year-long strike in Sudbury. Last June, two workers died in Sudbury in a mining accident that is still under investigation.

Earlier, an Industrial Inquiry Commission appointed by the Newfoundland and Labrador government to investigate an 18-month strike at Voisey's Bay found that Vale's "behaviour demonstrates disrespect for the role of a bargaining agent."
 
Vale was nominated for the Public Eye award by Justice on the Rails, a Brazilian coalition of environmental and community groups.

"We owe a tremendous debt to our sisters and brothers in Brazil who continue to expose this company's destructive actions," Leo Gerard said.

- 30 -

Contacts:
Ken Neumann, USW National Director for Canada, 416-544-5950
Bob Gallagher, USW Communications, 416-544-5966, 416-434-2221, bgallagher@usw.ca

Polluting Brazilian Mining Giant VALE Exposed: “worst corporation of the year”

Source: Climate Connections

DAVOS (SWITZERLAND) / PORTO ALEGRE (BRAZIL), 25 JANUARY 2012 — With more than 21,000 votes, the Brazilian mining giant Vale is highly likely to be crowned the ‘world’s worst corporation of the year’ at the January 27 ‘Public Eye Awards’ in Davos, Switzerland [1]

On the same day as the Awards ceremony, January 27, the world’s largest grassroots environmental organisation will release a case study  highlighting how Vale contributes to climate change [2] through its dirty mining activities while profiting from ‘carbon offsetting’ schemes which exacerbate the climate crisis.

The Brazilian corporation Vale is the world’s second largest metals and mining company and one of the largest producers of raw materials globally. In 2010 it reported profits of US$ 17 billion.

The case study released by Friends of the Earth International reveals Vale’s unfulfilled promises and its lobby activities aimed at influencing national and international climate change policies.

Despite setting out in 2008 its intention to cut its carbon dioxide emissions, Vale emitted – according to its own figures – 20 million tons of CO2 in 2010, an increase of a third on 2007 levels (15 million tons).

Vale has representatives on the Brazilian government’s official delegation to the UN and is one among many major corporations that are exerting pressure on government climate policies to undermine global action on the climate crisis.

The South African energy giant Sasol was also exposed by Friends of the Earth International in a separate recent case study on ‘corporate capture’ of UN processes. [3]

BRAZIL

Chief among Vale’s large scale mining projects that have direct impact on peoples and the environment in Brazil is the controversial steel complex of Companhia Siderurgica do Atlantico (TKCSA), a joint venture in Rio de Janeiro.

Vale has faced heavy criticism for high levels of pollution at this plant, which increased Rio de Janeiro’s carbon dioxide emissions by 76 %. Nevertheless, Vale’s project looks set to profit from ‘carbon credits’ under the so-called Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and other offsetting mechanisms.

“The project severely affected the livelihoods of eight thousand fishing workers living in traditional communities in the Sepetiba bay and the joint venture was denounced for environmental crimes in Brazilian courts,” said Lucia Ortiz for Friends of the Earth International.

“While Vale profits from large-scale mining activities which cause climate change, it also profits from false solutions which are exacerbating the climate crisis, such as carbon offsetting,” she added.

Vale is also constructing the Belo Monte dam in the Amazonian rainforest which is set to displace 40,000 people and have devastating consequences for the region’s unique biodiversity and Indigenous Peoples.

MOZAMBIQUE

The case study released on January 27 also exposes a Vale mining concession in Mozambique, the Moatize coal project, which exploits one of the world’s largest coal reserves since 2011. It is expected to produce 11 million tons of coal per year once it is fully operational.

Vale’s Moatize project attracted considerable criticism in Mozambique, for instance because some 1,300 families were forced to relocate to areas with difficult access to water, energy and arable land, and into houses badly built, with cracks and leaky roofs. Affected communities recently resorted to non-violent demonstrations, including blockading a train transporting coal to the Beira harbour.

Daniel Ribeiro from Friends of the Earth Mozambique said: “Members of local communities have been threatened, persecuted and harassed, according to a Chipanga community member, and these reports are just the tip of the iceberg.

NOTES:

[1] The ‘Public Eye Awards’ are awarded on January 27 at 13:30 local time in Davos, to coincide with the World Economic Forum, which is attended by world leaders. For more information about the ‘Public Eye Awards’ go to: http://www.publiceye.ch/en/news/
For more information about Vale: http://www.publiceye.ch/en/vote/vale/

[2] The Vale case study released on January 27 is online for press preview in English at
http://www.foei.org/en/resources/publications/pdfs/2012/how-corporations-rule-vale/

And in Portuguese:
http://www.foei.org/en/resources/publications/pdfs/2012/como-as-corporacoes-governam-vale/

[3] The Sasol case study released on 7 December is online at
http://www.foei.org/en/media/archive/2011/climate-agenda-of-south-african-energy-giant-sasol-exposed

Domingo 15, Moçambique: Tensão prossegue entre familias assentadas, que requisitam a presença da VALE

Por Jeremias Vunjanhe, de Cateme, Moçambique

Quatro dias depois das manifestações (realizadas em 10 de janeiro) de mais de 700 familias reassentadass pela Vale na região de Cateme, Distrito de Moatize, Provincia de Sofala, o Governador Alberto Vaquina efectua durante o dia de hoje (domingo dia 15 de janeiro de 2012) uma visita de emergencia àquele bairro, situado a mais de 65 km da cidade de Tete e a 45 Km da Vila de Moatize.

"Nós queremos a presença da Vale. Foi a Vale que nos fez muitas promessas que agora não quer cumprir. Foi a Vale que nos reassentou. É a Vale que explora o nosso carvão" disse um dos reassentados contactado no final do dia de ontem. A fonte acrescenta ainda que o prolongado silêncio da Vale e o atraso do Governo em reagir às exigências dos reassentados demonstra as perigosas relações estabelecidas e a cumplicidade entre figuras importantes do Governo e da Vale. Sabe-se ainda que o silêncio da Vale diante das manifestações dos reassentados foi imposto pelo Governo de Moçambique, que assumiu lidar com os revoltosos.

A equipa da Justiça Ambiental em visita à zona  de reassentamento de Cateme, Moatize, percorreu todos os quatro bairros: Bagamoyo, Mithete, Malabue e Chipanga. Na ocasião constatamos que Cateme vive ainda um momento de medo e terror diante da actuação e comportamento da Polícia da República de Moçambique e a sua unidade de Intervenção Rápida-FIR. Pelo menos 14 pessoas majoritariamente jovens foram detidas. Pelo menos dois dos detidos apresentam sinais de tortura e maus tratos a que foram submetidos nas péssimas  celas da Esquadra da CARBOMOC.

A polícia secreta de Moçambique continua presente no local. Há ainda informações de casos de intimidação e de perseguição a alguns jovens e pessoas violentadas pela FIR nas suas próprias casas quando estes exigem que a FIR e a PRM assumam as suas responsabilidades e prestem assistência aos feridos.

Jeremias a partir de Cateme

--
Jeremias Vunjanhe
Jornalista e Coordenador da Área de Media da Justiça Ambiental
Jornalista e Coordenador da ADECRU
(Acção Académica para o Desenvolvimento das Comunidades Rurais-ADECRU)
Cel:(+258) 823911238
E-mail:jfvunjanhe@gmail.com
          jfvunjanhe@yahoo.com.br