A Brazilian labour court "ordered a partial stop to construction" on the Arena Amazonia in the jungle city of Manaus after "the death of a worker who fell off the stadium's roof raised safety concerns ahead of the 2014 football World Cup," according to Kelly & Stauffer of REUTERS. The coordinator for UGP Copa, the umbrella coordination organization for all World Cup projects in Manaus, said in a statement, "Around noon on Sunday we were notified of the labour court's order for a partial stoppage of work." Andrade Gutierrez, the Brazilian firm building the stadium, "was not immediately available for comment." The UGP statement said that the company "had immediately complied with the decision and was taking the appropriate measures to ensure the full resumption of work." Some construction "would resume on Monday" (REUTERS, 12/16). The BBC reported work "had already been suspended until Sunday" by Andrade Gutierrez. The contractors said that they "had opened an investigation." But with the court decision, if work is carried out at the site on Monday, the firm "could be told to pay fines" of up to $43,000. The builders' union "is discussing whether to strike over working conditions" (BBC, 12/15).
WORKER SHORTAGE: BLOOMBERG's Tariq Panja reported a company building one of the 12 World Cup stadiums "is recruiting Haitian workers after falling months behind schedule." State of Mato Grosso World Cup Special Secretary Mauricio Guimaraes said that construction firm Mendes Junior "has brought in more than 100 workers from the Caribbean country to help complete the Arena Pantanal in Cuiaba." Even with the additional assistance, the stadium, where seats have yet to be installed and work on the roof remains unfinished, "will miss a Dec. 31 deadline by at least two months." Mendes Junior "provides lodging for most of the workers." Haitians "are also helping build stadiums in the southern city of Curitiba and in the Amazon capital, Manaus" (BLOOMBERG, 12/16).
