Hundreds of workers throughout Peru took the streets on 15 January against labour flexibilisation promoted by employers and to demand that the government of President Martín Vizcarra reactivate the construction industry.
Mobilisations were held in Lambayeque, Arequipa, Loreto, Piura, Lima, Tacna, Cuzco, Huancayo and Huanuco, among other Peruvian provinces, also called by the General Confederation of Workers (CGTP) in which unions affiliated to FTCCP participated as well.
Construction workers affiliated to the Federation of Civil Construction Workers of Peru (FTCCP) also demanded respect for branch collective bargaining, the recovery of 15 years of retirement contributions, regulation of subcontracting as well as fighting back the unemployment in the sector.
Since the Lava Jato case uncovered one of the largest money laundering and fraud operations in Brazil in 2014, the entire South American region has been economically affected. The involvement of large employers of construction companies, including executives of N. Odebrecht, has meant thousands of unfinished construction projects not only in Brazil, but also in Peru, which has resulted in unemployment and lack of investments in the construction sector.
As a consequence, in 2017 FTCCP promoted a campaign of reactivation of the industry with great energy, emulating a similar action that, since 2016, takes place all over Brazil, with the support of the Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI).