Brazilian Superior Labour Court fines Seara (JBS) 10 million Reais for collective moral damages
Highest
compensation ever in Brazil for collective moral damages. The decision
compared doctors on company payroll with those that collaborated with
torture by the military dictatorship
São Paulo – The 3rd Chamber of the Superior Labour Court (TST - Tribunal Superior do Trabalho)
ordered the Refrigerator Seara Alimentos, of the JBS group, to pay
compensation in the amount of 10 million Brazilian Reais (about US$ 4
million) for collective moral damages. The company had already been
fined by the Regional Labor Court of the 12th Region ((TRT - Tribunal Regional de Trabalho in Santa Catarina - SC),
which determined that their operations in the municipality of
Forquilhinha (SC) needed to adopt measures to improve working
conditions. TST considered that the company did not protect the health
of employees, incurring in serious violations of health and safety laws.
The
Court reiterated that the facility would still have to adopt measures
to make the environment compatible with the needs of workers. Among
them, the right to 20-minute breaks for every work hour and 40 min of
work in cold environments, no overtime in cold environments and use of
bathroom breaks during working hours.
Seara Alimentos will also be required to issue Work Accident Communications (CAT, acronym for Comunicações de Acidentes de Trabalho)
in the case of suspected or confirmed occupational illnesses, ensure
comprehensive medical treatment for all employees with occupational
illnesses and accept medical notes from professionals not associated
with the company. The decision also recognizes the low temperature in
the facility as unhealthy. In case of breach of the obligations, the
fine will be up to 100 thousand Brazilian Reais (US$ 25,000) per
violation per worker.
Comparing medical department with doctors that collaborated with torture during the dictatorship
The
factory had been convicted by the Regional Labor Court of the 12th
Region to compensate workers in the amount of 25 million Brazilian
Reais. According to the judges, there was "a real legion of workers unable to work,
some in an irreversible situation of working incapacity, since the
company did not implement any preventive measure to change the
circumstances". The decision of the 1st Chamber of TRT had pointed out that "the conduct of the defendant, perpetrated by health professionals, recalls
the period of the country's recent history, when many medical
professionals collaborated with the regime of military dictatorship."
"It is the victory of David against Goliath," says the lawyer of the Union of Food Industry Workers of Criciúma and Region, affiliated to CUT (Central Única dos Trabalhadores, the 4th
largest national trade union center in the world), Gilvan Francisco.
This result was only possible, according to the lawyer, because the
commitment of prosecutors Gean Voltolini, Sandro Sardá and union
president Celio Elias, implementing a thorough investigation that lead to discovering the irregularities that cause repetitive stress injuries and several other health problems. "This
determination led to historic decisions from the first instance, which
fined the company at R$ 14 million, the TRT at R$ 25 million, and the
TST at R$ 10 million, the largest punitive damages ever paid in Brazil" summarizes Gilvan.
The labour lawyer Maximiliano
Nagl Garcez, hired by the union to represent them in the TST, considers
this an important victory for workers from all across Brazil and not
just for those who work in refrigerated facilities: "The TST sent a
clear message to JBS, and also to other refrigeration operations and to
all employers: 'It is not possible for a company to gain huge profits
and, at the same time, treat workers in such a cruel and insensitive
manner'".
Garcez reiterates that he doesn’t see a problem in the fact that JBS makes a considerable profit: "What
Brazil can’t allow is that this is done at the expense of the lives of
thousands of workers subjected to inhumane conditions. Human work is
supposed to give dignity, achievement and income, and not to cause
disease, mutilation and death", he concludes. In the day the appeal
was heard by TST, Garcez concluded his summary of the case to the
Ministers of the Court with the following quote, attributed to the
anthropologist Margaret Mead: "Never
doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change
the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
For
Federal Labour Attorneys Sandro Eduardo Sarda and Heiler Ivens de Souza
Natali, national coordinators of the “Adequate Working Conditions in
Refrigerated Facilities” of MPT (“Ministério Publico do Trabalho”), "the
decision of the 3rd Chamber of TST demonstrated that the Labour Justice
is attentive and upholds the fundamental rights of labour, with regards
to the high level that human dignity and health protection are
incorporated into the legal and constitutional framework". They affirm that "the
amount of 10 million Brazilian Reais results from the seriousness of
the violations of health and dignity of workers, the intentional conduct
of the company not to adopt adequate measures for the working
environment and for dealing with the world leader in the sector of
animal protein processing", and conclude: "it is an exemplary
decision, setting the most important legal precedent in Brazil dealing
with refrigerated facilities, both by the nature of the obligations
imposed, as well as the value of compensation for collective moral
damages".
Célio Elias, President of the Union of Food Industry Workers of Criciúma and Region, informed that "the union was active in all of the stages of the process, submitting evidence, acting as assistant to MPT, presenting summaries to the Ministers of TST, among other actions. The condemnation of Seara (currently owned by JBS) by the Superior Labor Court in the amount of 10 millions is a recognition of poor working conditions in these facilities, a situation that the union has frequently denounced".
Data taken from the TST site:
The action began when about 9 workers from the refrigerated facility located in the municipality of Forquilhinha, in the south of the state, no longer bearing the cold, requested to the company a few minutes to warm up outside the workplace. The claim resulted in the instant dismissal of all the employees with "fair cause". The precarious working conditions were reported to Federal labour prosecutors ("Ministério Público do Trabalho") that began, with the support of the union, an investigation on the reported offenses.
In the case there are reports that in order to remain in the cold facilities, workers had to use up to three pairs of socks, their hands fell asleep because of the cold and they were instructed to take painkillers from the nursing stations to keep working, even with body aches. It was also noted that there was an excessive work pace, no breaks, no acceptance of medical certificates, not issuing work accidents communications, among others.
The first decision, by the Labour Judge Zelaide de Souza Phillipi, of Criciúma, ordered the company to pay compensation for collective moral damages in the amount of 16 million Brazilian Reais, the value of which was increased by the 1st Chamber of the TRT of the 12th Region to 25 million.
According to the Chief Judge Agueda Lavorato, from 1st Chamber of TRT-SC, "such conduct, as per the evidence of the case, have had serious and irreparable damage to the health of many employees subjected to a degraded working environment, with the sole purpose of making a profit, a situation of (...) a 'legion of sick and disabled workers'".
The decision of TRT-SC stated that "applying collective moral damages for the company's conduct in violating health and safety standards" was necessary because it "degraded the environment of hundreds, if not thousands of employees, because the facility of the defendant in the city of Forquilhinha alone employs about 2,500 employees. In consequence, adversely affected the ethical sphere".
In the final decision announced today, the TST fixed the damages at 10 million Brazilian Reais, has retained all the obligations of "to do's and don't do's" established by the TRT of the 12th Region, under penalty of a fine of 100 thousand Reais per violation of labor laws per worker and maintained the fine against the company, for acting in an unproper manner during the proceedings of the case.
The company:
Seara Alimentos was acquired in October 2013 by JBS company. It is currently the world leader in the processing of beef, lamb and poultry, as well as having a strong participation in pork production. With more than 200,000 employees worldwide, the company has 340 production units and operates in the areas of food, leather, biodiesel, collagen, metal packaging and cleaning products.
Present in 100% of the consumer markets, JBS is the largest exporter in the world of animal protein, selling to more than 150 countries.
The company had record net profit of $ 1.1 billion Brazilian Reais (roughly 250 million US$) in the third quarter, a figure five times higher than that recorded in the third quarter of 2013.
Fonte: (From www.RedeBrasilAtual.com.br, with information from www.tst.jus.br and www.mpt.gov.br)
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