Displaying items by tag: Protest
Tyre fire breaks out at Vassiliko Cement plant
14 June 2022Cyprus: Vassiliko Cement’s Vassiliko cement plant was the site of a tyre fire in an alternative fuel (AF) storage area on 11 June 2022. The Cyprus Mail newspaper has reported that the fire begun due to a mobile shredder malfunction. Enerco Energy Recovery operates the shredder at the 2.5Mt/yr cement plant. Local residents protested the incident at the site of the plant’s former quarry on 13 June 2022.
India: A gas pipeline explosion at JP Cement’s Naubasta cement plant in Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa district reportedly injured three workers in February 2022. India Today News has reported that the incident resulted in the hospitalisation of all three workers. 15 – 20 local people subsequently attacked the plant on 11 March 2022, where they threw sticks and stones at staff and vandalised equipment. A spokesperson for the rioters accused the company of suppressing news of the pipeline disaster.
Trinidad Cement workers protest outside Claxton Bay plant
22 February 2022Trinidad & Tobago: Current and former employees of Trinidad Cement have held two-day weekly protests since 10 January 2022 outside the company’s Claxton Bay plant in Couva–Tabaquite–Talparo Region. Staff from the past 10 years reportedly say that the company owes them their agreed cost of living allowance, gain shares and backpay.
Algerian cement truckers protest loading law change
21 February 2022Algeria: Some cement truck drivers have launched protests against a change in the law which limits their vehicles’ loads below the previous maximum weight. The L’Expression newspaper reports that protests include refusals to depart and the establishment of roadblocks. The actions have prevented the export of some Algerian clinker. Lafarge Algérie said that it raised drivers’ pay per tonne of goods following the law change. The company stated that the new level of pay ensures that transporters will not lose out as a result.
Algeria is targeting cement and clinker exports of 10Mt in 2022.
Locals stage armed protest against Dalmia Cement (Bharat)’s Katamateru cement plant plans
10 January 2022India: Locals in Odisha’s Malkangiri district gathered in the town of Katamataru on 9 January 2022 to protest plans for the establishment of a new Dalmia Cement (Bharat) cement plant in the area. The New Indian Express newspaper has reported that protestors allege that the state government did not conduct the proper tendering procedures for the proposed plant. More than 2000 people, wielding traditional tribal weaponry, gathered at an assembly. They resolved not to vote at upcoming village council elections if the government continues not to listen to their objections.
India: UltraTech Cement has announced its decision to temporarily suspend production at its Awarpur cement plant in Maharashtra after it became impossible to operate the plant due to the activities of sit-in protestors. The Times of India newspaper has reported that informal union Vijay Kranti Kantrati Kamgar Sanghatna (VKKKS) organised sit-ins at all five cement plants in Chandrapur district. The organisation is protesting workers’ pay.
Lafarge Jordan enters talks with government over workers’ rights
14 December 2021Jordan: Lafarge Jordan is negotiating with the Jordan government to find a solution to end protests by its employees. The Jordan Times newspaper has reported that the workers went to Parliament to protest their rights, which they claim have been impinged on by the company. Labour Minister Nayef Steitieh urged the parties to establish a compromise in order to resolve the protesters’ demands.
Protestors block access to Van Ninh cement plant
08 November 2021Vietnam: Local residents have blocked entrances to Van Ninh cement plant in Quang Binh’s Quang Ninh district in protest against alleged pollution violations. Van Ninh Cement previously incurred a US$3100 fine for dust emissions following a similar protest in 2017. The residents have put up tents in which to sleep in front of the plant in order to prevent the blockade’s removal.
France: Extinction Rebellion activists forced operations to stop temporarily at LafargeHolcim’s Port de Javel ready-mixed concrete plant in Paris on 30 June 2021. Members of the climate activist group trespassed on the site to denounce what they called the company’s firm's environmentally damaging pursuit of profit, according to Reuters. The building materials producer was forced to divert its trucks to another site during the chaos. Earlier in the week protestors from Extinction Rebellion and the non-government organisation Soulevements de la Terre targeted another LafargeHolcim site near Paris.
In late 2020 the council of Paris voted to withdraw permissions for a planned expansion to LafargeHolcim subsidiary Lafarge France’s Bercy concrete plant after protesters captured footage of a slurry spill that the company called ‘exceptional.’
LafargeHolcim currently has a target to reduce its CO2 intensity in cement to 475kg net CO2/t by 2030. The group says it hopes to become ‘net zero’ in the future. It is currently working with the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) to define a roadmap to 2050 to, “reduce scope one CO2 emissions to a target consistent with a net zero pathway endorsed by SBTi.”
Ghana: Residents of the McCarthy Hill district in Accra have launched a protest against China-based Empire Cement’s planned McCarthy Hill cement plant. The Daily Guide newspaper has reported that protestors allege that the proposed plant would contaminate water which flows through active salt mines. They have also complained about potential dust emissions from the site. So far the company has broken ground on the project and three silos are in place.