An International Meeting of Poultry Industry Workers is currently being held in Sao Paulo, Brazil (June 17 and 18), organized by the IUF, the CONTAC and the INST. According to the latest data available, 25 percent of all workers in this sector suffer from Repetitive Stress Injuries (RSIs).

The Meeting opened with the presence of trade union leaders from around Brazil and from the leading companies in the industry, as well as representatives from Uruguay and the United States, while the Argentinean delegation is expected to arrive late, delayed by difficulties in accessing airports due to that country’s domestic situation.

In his opening words, Siderlei de Olivera, president of the National Confederation of Food Workers (CONTAC) and the National Health-at-Work Institute (INST-CUT), stressed that “this is an excellent opportunity to define the position that we are to bring to the upcoming World Meat Sector Congress of the IUF, which will be held in London, England, starting on June 24.”

He pointed out that “the time for complaints and diagnoses has passed, and now it is time for action, for taking to the streets. That is why we must step up the international campaign against the inhumane work pace in the poultry plants. We must make the world, the consumers of these chickens, aware of the conditions we’re working under in Brazil.”

Siderlei agreed that the CONTAC should bring to the World Congress the proposal to reduce the workday to six hours, but he believes it should also include a proposal to modify the system of work, making it slower and suitable to human health.

For his part, Gerardo Iglesias, IUF regional secretary for Latin America, recalled the numerous battles fought by the CONTAC and its long history of representation and struggle on behalf of the sector’s workers. He said that the IUF was seeking to expand and support the International Campaign Against the Excessive Work Pace in Brazil.

Also contributing their impressions and objectives at the Meeting were Geni Dalla Rosa, CONTAC Health Secretary; Rosane Bertotti, Press Secretary of the United Workers’ Federation (CUT); Mara Lira, CONTAC Training Secretary and coordinator of the Vidaviva Project, conducted by the Confederation’s health sector; Anita Grabowski, representative of the Union of Food and Commerce Workers (UFCW); and Marcos Tebom, CONTAC International Affairs Secretary.

In the afternoon, participants will divide into work groups, organized by company, with tables for Perdigao, Cargill, Sadia and Doux. The results of these table discussions will be pooled together tomorrow, Wednesday 18, and based on them, the meeting will define objectives and tools to achieve the objectives, including an action plan.

From Atibaia, Sao Paulo, Carlos Amorín