Carnauba Worker Rights and Safety Project
Find below the results of the Carnauba Worker Rights and Safety project since 2022.
The Carnauba Worker Rights and Safety project, started in 2022 in partnership with the IRC and supported by GIZ, is implemented by UEBT every year in collaboration with four Carnauba processing companies. The aim of the project is to reduce the risks of injuries of machine workers and train Carnauba workers on health and safety, human and workers' rights. The infographics show the results of the project from 2022 to 2024.
The machine component of the project consists of inspections by a specialised engineer of the Carnauba beating machines, that are used in the field to extract the wax-bearing powder from Carnauba leaves. During the first inspection, the owners of the machines receive technical advice on all modifications needed to comply with safety regulations, and how to implement them. All machines inspected were missing several required safety elements, presenting significant hazards to workers. Following modifications, the beating machines are inspected a second time, and if all improvements have been correctly implemented, the owners receive a certificate of conformity with legal safety requirements. To date, the project has contributed to making 148 Carnauba machines safe for workers, representing an estimated 50% of the machines in the sector, significantly reducing safety risks for approximately 800 machine workers. As the certificate needs to be renewed when a change is made to the machine, some machines participated more than once in the project and therefore received more than one certificate over the years: in total, 185 machine safety certificates have been delivered during the 3 years of the project.
The training component of the project consists of trainings in health and safety and human and workers' rights given by topic experts, and has reached 720 workers in the states of Piaui and Ceara since 2022. UEBT and the IRC have the ambition to reach more than 10 000 actors of the Carnauba sector with awareness-raising actions on human and workers' rights by 2030.
A factsheet and video summarising the first year of implementation of the project, in 2022, can be found here.
Project partners:
