Peru looks at 25kg cement bags

Peru’s Ministry of Labour and Employment Promotion has started a series of technical meetings with construction unions and companies to lower the weight of cement bags in the country from 42.5kg to 25kg.

The move is designed to help prevent lower back injuries as a result of carrying the heavier weight bag. The 42.5kg bags date back from the time when the country was a net importer of cement, which arrived in oak cylinders of about 170kg. These were divided into four units of 42.5kg for sale.

"It's about giving more productive years and quality of life to the worker. But the idea is also that employers do not get around the law. Sunafil and the construction companies have an important role to play here," said Luis Gilvonio, general secretary of Fetraceppe, the federation of cement and ready-mix workers of Peru.

During the forum "25 kilos, no more!", organised by the Federation of Civil Construction Workers (FTCCP), the executive director of the Asocem, the country’s cement association,  Carlos Ferraro, explained that, unlike other countries, 70 per cent of cement production in Peru is sold in bags, which represents a real challenge for the renewal of packaging machines. However, they are fully prepared to adjust the weight to the international model.