Workers at the Angolan hydroelectric project of Caculo Cabaça and the management of the Chinese contractor China Gezhouba Group Company (CGCG) signed a collective agreement to improve working conditions.
Following protests at the site that resulted in fatal clashes between workers and the police, the agreement was signed in the presence of the Angolan Minister of Energy and Water, João Baptista Borges, who suggested, on the occasion, the creation of a monitoring committee “to verify compliance with the agreement between the parties”.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Energy and Water, the first secretary of the union commission for the hydroelectric project, Leonardo Bate-Chapa, “recognized the leadership and availability of the minister in the negotiation process that resulted in gains between the parties”.
China and Angola “intensifying negotiations on bilateral investment protection agreement”
In late May, João Baptista Borges gave 15 days for workers at the Caculo Cabaça hydroelectric project and the management of the Chinese contractor CGCG (China Gezhouba Group Company) to end the impasse that led to claims and the death of workers.
For the Angolan minister, quoted in the statement, the signing of the agreement between the parties was a historic day for the project, as it will provide better working conditions.
The deputy governor of Kwanza Norte, Leonor Garibaldi, also attended the ceremony and said that the act represents an “important milestone for the province, taking into account the importance of infrastructure for Kwanza Norte in particular and for the country in general”.
The striking workers involved in the construction of the Caculo Cabaça hydroelectric plant, in the Angolan province of Cuanza Norte, demanded a salary increase, better working conditions, food and medical and medication assistance.
The agreement signed comes after two Angolan workers, who worked on this project, were killed in a confrontation with the police, last May, when they complained against the contractor, alleging non-compliance, as informed by the authorities.
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