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Since December 25, Peru has tightened control over working conditions after two employees of the American fast-food chain, McDonald's, died of electric shocks.
During the night of December 15 to 16, two employees of a McDonald's in the Pueblo Libre district of Lima died of electric shock. The two workers, a man and a woman aged 18 and 19, were cleaning the restaurant kitchen when the events occurred.
The death of these two employees moved public opinion and prompted the president, Martin Vizcarra, to strengthen safety at work. The government therefore amended the occupational health and safety law. The authorities will now be able to carry out several inspections during the year to check working conditions instead of just one as was the case so far.
" The measures we have approved will allow us to more rigorously prevent and control occupational safety and health, " said Minister of Labor Sylvia Caceres.
McDonald's confirms machine malfunction
The fast food chain has partially reopened some of the 29 stores it owns in the country, while the prosecution is investigating the exact causes of the death. Last week, two peaceful protests took place outside an iconic McDonald's store in the tourist district of Miraflores, demanding justice and better working conditions.
The police then declared that the girl had suffered an electric shock when handling a soda machine. Her colleague tried to help him, but was also electrocuted. The operator of the McDonald's franchise in Peru admitted that a soft drink distributor had caused the work accident that claimed the lives of the two workers.
" Twenty-four hours before the accident, we already knew the machine was having problems, " said José Carlos Andrade, general manager of Arcos Dorados, operator of McDonald's in Peru. Following the death of the two employees, the law now requires that the investigation into the death of a worker be reduced to 10 days instead of 30.
With agencies