August 24, 2020

JBS forced to implement 1.5m distancing among workers

A Brazilian court ordered JBS SA to implement a 1.5m distancing between workers at its beef plant in Pontes e Lacerda, Mato Grosso state after a COVID-19 outbreak was reported at that plant, Reuters reported.

145 workers at that plant were detected to have COVID-19 as of July 27, according to to labor prosecutors in Mato Grosso, Brazil's largest agriculture state. JBS has 1,035 workers total at the Pontes e Lacerda plant.

JBS did not comment on the ruling but reiterated the company's robust health measures and that it adheres to federal rules for meatpackers passed in June.

Labour prosecutors said the company has not done enough to safeguard its workers from the pandemic and has sued the company to protect workers at JBS' other beef plants in Colíder, Confresa and Araputanga, all in Mato Grosso. These cases are pending.

The company has reported three other COVID-19 outbreaks in Mato Grosso state.

According to the ruling, if JBS cannot enforce the 1.5 distance between workers, then a physical barrier must be installed to protect workers.

-      Reuters