Union sues JBS for alleged exploitation of people – 07/14/2023 – Market

A workers’ union in Mato Grosso do Sul accused JBS of subjecting dozens of workers to “degrading conditions”, according to the terms of a public civil action filed this week against the world’s largest slaughterhouse and its suppliers.

Sindaves, which operates in Sidrolândia, filed the lawsuit on behalf of at least 76 people, including members of the Terena indigenous community, who worked as outsourced chicken catchers for JBS in conditions described as “analogous to slavery”, according to the allegations. .

Their shifts lasted up to 14 hours, including travel to and from poultry farms in the region, union leader Sergio Bolzan said in a telephone interview. The work involved packing the live chickens into boxes for transport, some of which weighed up to 24 kilograms, he added.

JBS is the first defendant and four companies are co-defendants in the process, the documents show.

In a note to Reuters, JBS said that it has not yet been notified of the action and that it will investigate the facts reported with the supplier.

In the lawsuit, the union alleges that workers did not have enough time to rest and were not properly paid after their dismissals. They also did not receive unhealthy work additional, which the action also pleads.

The company claims to maintain “strict protocols and controls in its operations” to ensure that all its suppliers comply with legal and employee welfare obligations.

JBS also states that technical inspections are carried out to verify the entire picking process and the regularity of service providers.

Bolzan said evidence of alleged exploitation surfaced in April, when he made a surprise visit to where some chicken pickers were being housed, to document the conditions in which they lived.

The union then submitted what it considers to be evidence of wrongdoing to a court in Sidrolândia, where Bolzan said JBS employs 5,000 people directly and indirectly.

The union is asking for BRL 400,000 in moral and existential damages per allegedly injured worker, and also requires the participation of the Public Ministry of Labor as an “active co-defendant”, the documents show.

The MPT (Ministério Público do Trabalho), warned by the union about the working conditions of the chicken pickers, confirmed to Reuters that it is carrying out preliminary investigations on the matter, including to determine whether they were employees without a formal record.