April 15, 2009
Brazil labour court criticises Bunge's ethanol mill
Giant trading company Bunge Ltd. (BG) has been criticised for labour practices at its ethanol mill in Brazil's Minas Gerais state by a regional labour court, local newspaper Folha de S. Paulo reported Tuesday (April 14).
Edmar Salgado, a judge at the Minas Gerais state labor court, said Bunge was prohibited from using "exhausting labour practices," Folha reported.
The court's decision was made after Brazil's labour ministry last year accused Bunge of practices such as making sugarcane cutters work more than 10 hours per day, Folha reported.
Bunge's director of corporate communications, said the allegations related to a period of transition at the mill, Folha reported.
The management has now changed and the mill is phasing out manual cane cutting, the newspaper reported. Bunge was unavailable for further comment.
The Santa Juliana mill is Bunge's first ethanol mill worldwide, Folha reported.
