Assessment of working conditions in sugarcane

productionproduction

Biofuel Watch Center - Reporter Brasil

December 2011

Sugarcane in Brazil: an overview• Brazilian sugarcane plantations in 2011 occupied 8. 03

million hectares, an increase of 8.4% in comparison to 2010

• The state of São Paulo, which concentrates 54.23% o f Brazil’s sugarcane areas - 4.3 million hectares -, h ad a 5.5% increase.

• The largest increase in planted area took place in Mato Grosso do Sul, with 396.1 thousand hectares (49.2%)

• The third most important sugarcane growth happened in Goiás, (4 th most important sugarcane state): 27%, followed by Minas Gerais (2 nd), with 10.3%.

• In the Northeast of Brazil, Alagoas planted 464 tho usand hectares and Pernambuco, 300 thousand.

Workforce in sugarcane plantations

• Around 1 million sugarcane workers are active in 20 Brazilian states

• The number of manual workers, such as cutters, is declining. An estimated 60% of São Paulo’s planted declining. An estimated 60% of São Paulo’s planted area is already machine-harvested.

• Around 180 thousand sugarcane cutters will loose their jobs in São Paulo until 2014 due to the mechanization of sugarcane plantations

Labor issuesHealth and personal security issues

Labor issues

• According to a research by University of Campinas, the sugarcane cutters have a lower life expectation than slaves i n the 18th century

• According to health standard studies by the nationa l Social Security System, long time sugarcane workers are exposed to diseases such as:- Mental and behavioral disorders due to substance ab use; - Mental and behavioral disorders due to substance ab use; schizophrenia; Visual disturbances and blindness; Hy pertensive diseases; other heart diseases; chronic airway dise ase; hernias; Antropathies; back problems; injuries to the skull, chest, spine, pelvis and wrist.

Labor issues

Slave labor:

• More than 10 thousand workers where freed from slav e labor in sugarcane plantations from 2003 to July 2011

• Breaking that remarkable 10 -thousand -barrier places sugarcane, • Breaking that remarkable 10 -thousand -barrier places sugarcane, together with cattle, as the industry with most wor kers freed by authorities from slave-like conditions

• In 2007, 2008, and 2009, sugarcane lead the statist ics on freed slaves in Brazil.

• During the last three years, however, slave labor d ecreased in the sector. In 2008, 2,553 workers where rescued from f orced labor; in 2009, 1,911, and in 2010, 535 workers (18% of the t otal)

Labor issues

Labor issues

• Although the sugar and ethanol industry is discussi ng a series of measures to improve labor conditions, several pl ants still face judicial process for legal misbehavior in the last four years. Many of this companies are ethanol and sugar exporters to the EU, USA and Asia

• The main problems verified by the Labor Prosecutors Office are:

• The main problems verified by the Labor Prosecutors Office are:

• No individual protection equipment or equipment in bad conditions

• No proper work tools • No shelter, place for meals, bathroom facilities • No periodic health testes issuing an Occupational H ealth

Certificate, and occupational risk assessment• Problems with wage payments • Problems with overtime

Measures

• The National Commitment to Improve Labor Conditions in the Sugarcane Industry, launched in June 2009 and expec ted to help to improve that scenario of labor conditions, after tw o years is still in its first stages of debate.

• When launched, several signatories were facing lega l prosecutions for slave labor or other labor related problems. The la ck of criteria is still a problem

• Several companies had serious legal problems for no t applying labor laws after signing the Commitment.

Recomendations

• Increase of State and social control, supervision a nd inspection of labor conditions

• International pressure for social and labor criteri as regarding the production of sugar and ethanol

• Economic safeguard mesures to protect the companies from internal • Economic safeguard mesures to protect the companies from internal and external crisis wchich could jeopardize labor co nditions and led to massive layoffs

• Internal requalification and realocation of sugarca ne cutters replaced by mechanisation

• National and local agrarian reform programs for dis missed sugarcane workers

Reports and documents

Brazil’s ethanol in the world - Socio-environmental i mpactsof export sugarcane companieshttp://www.reporterbrasil.org.br/documentos/Sucarca ne2011.pdf

Brazil of Biofuels: Impacts of Crops on Land, Enviro nment and Society - Sugarcane 2009http://www.reporterbrasil.org.br/biofuel/relatorio. php

Brazil of Biofuels -Impacts of Crops on Land, Enviro nment and Society – Sugarcane - 2008http://www.reporterbrasil.com.br/documentos/brazil_ of_biofuels_v3.pdf

Thank you!Verena Glass

verena@reporterbrasil.org.br