The Union of Forestry Companies denounced, in addition to the fires, that the state company is violating the rights of workers by reducing them from their positions. The mixed company has failed to achieve any of its goals since its formation in 2019
Workers of the former Maderas del Orinoco forestry company, today the Mixed Wood Company of Venezuela and Turkey (Mavetur), denounced Caroní Mail the loss of eight thousand hectares of pine trees in the Uverito forest, due to the company’s incompetence to control the multiple forest fires resulting from the drought.
Uverito is the largest forest in the world planted by man, and covers part of the Monagas and Anzoátegui states. CVG Proforca and later Maderas del Orinoco were the companies in charge of taking advantage of the more than 500,000 hectares; however, in 2019 the Venezuelan government decided to partner with a company of Turkish origin and created a mixed company.
It was then that a massive layoff was carried out in the company that, according to the workers, affected 1,700 employees.
The press secretary of the Union of Workers of the forestry company, William López, denounced that the state company has not taken action in the face of the multiple fires that the dry season has generated in the forest.
“Last week approximately seven thousand hectares burned in Anzoátegui with a fire that lasted seven days. Since Friday there have been four fires that have already reached eight thousand hectares of pine. There are only 66,000 hectares of pine trees left in the forest, and they are being exploited irrationally,” said López.
In this sense, regional and national media have been reporting the destruction of the forest. According to Crónica.Uno, by 2019 there were only 100,000 usable hectares left.
Forest firefighters out of their jobs
The union representative affirms that, despite the need for forest firefighters to counteract the damage, the company has been disabling the firefighters who work in Mavetur, causing further chaos.
He also declared that those who remain within the company work without any type of security, since they are not provided with personal protective equipment or regulatory uniforms.
“Mavetur decides to fire the forest protectors, men trained for years with extensive experience in fighting forest fires. In the Los Hachos camp, in Anzoátegui, they deactivated 10 firefighters out of the 12 that remained. They fight fires without safety equipment such as boots, jackets, or helmets,” López said.
In turn, workers affirm that there is almost no machinery left due to its dismantling.
As in the rest of the basic companies in Guyana, Mavetur employees have also been dismissed. “There is no transportation, they have not received CLAP benefits for three years. We would like to know where the resources that are destined for this benefit are going, “the complainants alleged.
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