(UPM, Paso de los Toros, 21 April 2021) – Given the current health situation in the region, UPM is intensifying the application of preventive measures and increasing its testing capacity at all its work sites. This includes the introduction of a fourth Finnish automatic testing station that allows the maximum capacity for daily tests to rise to more than 1,000.
During the restart of construction after holidays the company monitored more than 3,000 swabs, reaching 100% of the workers on the site in order to guarantee safe working environments, detect potential cases and to reassure the local communities around the development of the project.
This preventive action, added to the strict measures that UPM and its contractor companies have already been implementing since the beginning of the pandemic, allowed UPM to reduce active cases by approximately 50% compared to the week prior to the construction holiday.
Beyond these satisfactory results, the company has reinforced its commitment to compliance with the measures and redoubled its efforts in the implementation of preventive actions. These include the organization of the same crews working and living together and reducing the number of people per bedroom in each accommodation; reduction of the capacity of transport buses to 50% with disinfection of all vehicles before each trip; reduction in the capacity of the canteen by one third to avoid crowds and identifying specific areas by colours, showing where workers should eat, in addition to installation of ionizers in the dining room air conditioners to ensure air quality inside the canteen.
In line with the measures set down by national government, and in agreement with contractor companies and workers, UPM is creating all the necessary conditions for workers to be vaccinated without affecting their functions in any way. To date about 1,000 workers have received doses or are scheduled, according to estimates from contractor companies.
The management of the pandemic is based on the strict application of protocols from the beginning, following the guidelines defined by the Ministry of Public Health (MSP), with a strong involvement of employers' and workers' organizations.
