The work shift of Vale's outsourced miners followed the routine, this Saturday (19 December), in Brumadinho (MG), despite the employees feeling inconsolable with the death of their friend Júlio César de Oliveira Cordeiro, 34 years old.He was hired by the company Vale Verde, outsourced by mining company Vale, and was buried last Friday (18) after a landslide in the Córrego do Feijão mine.
One of these employees, who declined to be identified, told theBrasil de Fato reportthat, instead of welcoming and comforting words, they heard from the head: “You need to know that you work in mining, in an area at risk of disruption, and each one of you needs to be aware that, like Júlio, he may not return home ”.
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For years, the feeling of fear has been a part of the daily lives of mining workers and residents of the surrounding area, especially afterSamarco's crime in Mariana (MG), on November 5, 2015, which left 19 dead and a devastating environmental impact.Four years later, the rupture of the Vale dam in Brumadinho (MG), on January 25, 2019, killed 272 people, 11 of which are still missing.Most of the victims had their lives taken while wearing the companies' shirt.Backhoe operator Júlio César is the most recent victim.He died of asphyxiation, according to a report by the Legal Medical Institute (IML) of Minas Gerais, after the collapse of part of the slope of a slope, which is a sloping terrain plan built to guarantee the stability of the landfill and contain mining waste. Lamb was married and the father of a four-month-old baby. On the day of his death, it rained in the region and he cleaned the B1 dam of the Córrego do Feijão mine.
According to Tatiana Telles and Koeler de Matos, head of the Division of Legal Medicine of the Interior of the Civil Police of Minas Gerais, the victim's body was admitted to the Betim Legal Medical Post, in the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte, as unknown.“When they started the necropsy work, they found a badge and inquiries were made with the health sector of the company Vale, in order to contact the family to attend the IML to recognize the body, which occurred on Saturday morning ( 19) ”.
Cordeiro's family lives in the city of Santa Luzia (MG) and the worker was staying in Mário Campos, who shares a border with Brumadinho, for at least 15 days.
Routine of mining workers
The victim's friends report the fear of going on with mining.Emotionally moved, one of the workers, on audio * who circulates in groups of workers and who was sent toBrasil de Fato, talks about the danger of working in the area.
“I said, I already told my supervisor.The engineers said that we could go up. This rain that gave yesterday devastated the whole train. This train is about to burst again, this train demon. What a rage for this train demon, this company is no good, no, ”he says.
Days before Friday's death, another worker recorded his dread, through a video *, at the risks of mining activity. He asks his family to keep his testimony as evidence of the invisible violence he suffers every day in mining in Brumadinho.
“I'm making this video here to be on my guard. If anything happens, you send it to my family, my mother.This is absurd, this dam here, look.The train is all soaked.Look where I am, this hell here, look.This is hell, this cannot exist.Look at this, look over there.'He is the first' to die.But unfortunately it does, right?Need.If you don't know hell, just come here, ”he says.
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According to Marta Freitas, coordinator of theMovement of People Affected by Dams (MAB), historically, mining companies have not taken care of the adequate safety of their workers and break laws.“Mining is the most dangerous place in the world to work. In the case of Brazil, the chance of you dying in mining is three times greater than in any other activity. Working conditions are terrible, even in large companies, which have international and certified programs. In practice, they do not respect the law ”, he denounces.
Also according to Freitas, the miners systematically fail to comply with theNR 22standard, which regulates the occupational safety and health of mining workers.
“The rule provides, for example, that the worker has the right to refuse to carry out an activity if he feels at risk in the operation.But refuse how? He has to talk to the boss, and if the boss doesn't agree, he needs to talk to someone with a higher rank in the hierarchy. Who evaluates whether or not you will continue as an outsourcer? Working in mining means being denied rights. One of them, which the International Labor Organization points out, is precisely this oppression, disrespect, harassment ”, he concludes.
Invisible Violence
Cordeiro died on the same date that theLegislative Assembly of Minas Gerais (ALMG)approved the Bill 1200/15 that qualifies the rights and the struggle of the population affected by dams.Despite the victory, Minas Gerais is still far from celebrating concrete advances in legislation.
Months after the rupture of the B1 dam, in Brumadinho, in July 2019, another worker recorded a video * at the B6 dam, where a work would be done, denouncing the risks that could involve the intervention. The material was sent directly to the Brasil de Fato report.
“They are wanting us to cut 13 meters deep. There is a probe on the top, right on the embankment, there is a probe on the bottom, at the foot of the embankment, where the cut will start, which goes up to the B6 embankment. I am working in fear. Dam 6 is quiet at the moment, but what was left of 1, on Friday, had tremors of 2 degrees. Up there, on the left jamb. I'm scared, ”he says.
The work came to a standstill after complaints, but was resumed with the assistance of auditors from the Public Ministry of Minas Gerais and the Fire Department.No accidents were recorded at the scene.According to the report, this worker decided to leave the service for fear of dying during the activity.
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Restart
On January 25, 2019, Reinaldo Augusto das Chagas, at 41, lived the worst day of his life, and was reborn from the mud.He drove a water truck from a third-party company and was inside the mining area Vale at the time of the B1 dam breach. He is one of 64 survivors of the tragedy.
Reinaldo Chagas survived the rupture of Brumadinho (MG), when he returned to work at the mining company's outsourced company he also faced abuse and left the company / Carlos Hauck
Reinaldo says he felt the ground shake and saw the avalanche of tailings pass over colleagues who were screaming for help.Even after breaking his foot in an attempt to escape, he managed to keep running, with the support of a nephew, who asked him not to give up. Reinaldo is thrilled to remember the feeling of helplessness for not having managed to save his friends.
“After they learned that there were survivors, the mining company sent a bus to pick us up.They left me at the point and I walked to my house, as if it were a day at work. I walked a kilometer for half an hour, my clothes completely soiled with mud and my broken foot. Upon arriving at the street, a surprise: everyone was waiting for me. It was very exciting! ", He says, recalling that he spent 6 hours without contact with his family, still at Vale's facilities.
The photo, posted by Reinaldo's sister on social media, shows the arrival of the worker and his surviving nephew./ Reproduction
Reinaldo reports that until today he has not been called by Vale to undergo any medical examination and that he was summoned to return to work less than a week after the tragedy. In a moment after his return, in the cafeteria, he would have heard criticism from a manager due to the sadness and dejection of the team. “He told us that whoever died is over. Whoever stayed had to work and leave the past behind. I was disgusted ”, he reports.
A revolt that led the worker to leave mining for good and invest in another way, according to him, which is safer and more dignified.He opened a car wash, where he works daily, with the help of his family.He wears the uniform worn on the day of the disaster.“I use it as a lucky charm.Reminds me of my strength at that moment.I don't want that for anyone ”.
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The death of another worker is, for Reinaldo, the proof of an announced tragedy.“There were already rumors that the place was unstable. The bank was already collapsing, and they were fixing it. They knew about risk, which demonstrates, once again, recklessness. Then we ask ourselves: how long will people need to die and families mourn the pain of the loss of their relatives? ”, He asks.
Union says it warned Vale
According to Eduardo Armond, director of the Union of Workers in the Heavy Construction Industries of Minas Gerais, since last year, meetings have been requested from Vale.The purpose of these meetings would be to discuss the health and safety situation of workers in all their areas of activity.
“In particular, we want to comply with NR 22. Until today, we have not been able to obtain a return from the mining company for the composition of work situation commissions.We warned that, with the rains, the tendency was for another tragedy to occur. Our desire was to prevent it, to urgently request that the pace of work decrease and be monitored by the union, but Vale has not returned to us yet, ”he says.
Remember: From crime to virus: incidence of covid-19 in Brumadinho is twice that of Belo Horizonte
Regarding allegations of harassment by Vale managers for employees to carry out their activities, even if they are psychologically shaken, Armond says that such reports are recurrent.“I know that complaints of harassment by leaders of outsourced companies are common. What happens is that Vale puts pressure on third parties and they reproduce the harassment ”, he argues.
This Sunday (20), the union reported that the new request for the composition of the work situation commission in mining was granted by Vale.The meeting was scheduled for this Monday (21).
The operating and location permits for Vale and its contractors in the city are suspended by a decree from the Brumadinho city hall.According to the document, the objective is that the causes of death can be clarified and "the safety conditions for workers who work on the site are guaranteed".
Until the closing of this report, the mining company's press office did not respond to calls and response requests sent by e-mail by Brasil de Fato.
https://www.brasildefato.com.br/2020/12/20/trabalhadores-terceirizados-da-vale-denunciam-abusos-de-poder-na-mineradora
