Brazilian pellet producer Samarco, a 50/50 percent JV between Brazil’s Vale and BHP Billiton, announced this week it will keep jobs until April, despite the shutdown in the company’s operations, following a deadly iron ore waste dam burst in November.
Samarco said it extended from March 1, 2016 to April 25, 2016, a proposal to preserve its 3,000-employee workforce. The proposal is yet to be accepted by the company’s workers.
Samarco said that effective on January 25 it will start a provisional layoff program for about three months. During this period, workers will join qualification courses offered by the company and will receive a monthly allowance, which combined with the qualification course will guarantee a nominal wage for employees, the company said.