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FinnWatch is an NGO that observes and researches Finnish companies operating in
developing countries, focusing on human rights, working conditions,
environmental protection and social development. In the framework of a project
carried out by the Finnish Labor Solidarity Center (SASK) in Brazil, FinnWatch
conducted an investigation on the responsibility of Nordic -and in particular
Finnish- companies that import beef and poultry meat from Brazil.
Sirel spoke with FinnWatch
researcher Päivi Pöyhönen to find out more about the scope of the investigation
and its impact in the press.
-How
did you learn of the situation in Brazil’s meatpacking sector?
-Through information provided by SASK and the Finnish Food Industry
Workers’ Union (SEL), which are implementing a project in this
country together with IUF Latin America (Rel-UITA) and its local
affiliates CONTAC and CNTA, Brazil’s national confederations of
food industry workers.
-How
did you feel when you found out that thousands of workers are being brutalized
in Brazil’s poultry plants, in what amounts to basically to a massacre?
-I
was shocked and at the same time very saddened. It’s outrageous that 25 percent
of all workers in poultry plants suffer from Repetitive Stress Injuries (RSI).
It
was even more shocking to find that Finnish companies are unaware of this
situation, despite their frequent visits to the factories in Brazil. They
even have Finnish employees living in Brazil, who visit the plants and
conduct audits.
However, these audits do not include “Safety and Health” aspects, so there’s a
false belief that meatpacking and poultry plants in Brazil are very
modern and their operators enjoy good working conditions.
For
this reason, the companies don’t believe the data yielded by our investigation,
which is based on databases provided by CONTAC and CNTA.
-How
did the Finnish press receive your investigation?
-We’ve had good press coverage. The leading local newspaper featured a story on
our investigation on the front page, and even corroborated the data in our study
with information from its own sources.
It
was also featured in many other Finnish press media, so the study has had
a great impact in the country.
-What repercussions do you think your investigation has had after the press
coverage in Finland?
-The
most obvious result is that we’ve made the companies aware of this outrageous
situation, as we sent the study’s final report to each company and they were all
invited to the presentation of results of our work. Some companies have even
commented on the written report.
Moreover, many companies expressed their interest in the presentation and we
also received the Swedish company North Trade. They too were very
surprised to see the results of the study.
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