30/10/2017
Samarco employees approved the continuation of the layoff for an additional five months (November 1, 2017 – March 31, 2018) at an assembly held on October 23 by the Metabase (Mariana/MG) and Sindimetal (ES) unions.
Employees participating in the layoff will have their current rights guaranteed and will receive a salary equivalent to their net monthly income. The current period of the layoff began on June 1 of this year.
After freezing its activities, the company has resorted to various legal mechanisms, such as paid leave, collective vacations and the suspension of employment contracts. Today, the company has about 1,800 employees of its own, of which roughly 800 currently have suspended contracts.
Samarco needs to obtain two environmental licenses in order to return to operations. The company has already filed for the Corrective Operational Licensing (LOC) of the Germano Complex, as well as for a waste disposal license for the Alegria Sul pit with the State Secretariat for Environment and Sustainable Development of Minas Gerais (Semad). The environmental licensing processes are in progress and there is no scheduled date to resume operations.
