JBS joined the National Pact for the Eradication of Slave Labor (InPacto), a corporate initiative to strengthen actions against slave labor in Brazil. By joining the institute, the company said it reaffirmed “its commitment to sustainability and the development of a clean and responsible supply chain.” Despite this, subsequent reports and surveys by different organizations have revealed ongoing problems in this area.
According to the Regional Labor Court of Mato Grosso state (TRT/MT), JBS was ordered by the Labor Court to pay R$2.3 million (around US$ 1 million at the time the fines were issued) due to labor violations at its meatpacking plant in Juruena, in the state of Mato Grosso. These included supplying employees with meat containing maggots. The lawsuits, filed by the Labor Prosecutor’s Office (Ministério Público do Trabalho – MPT), cited issues such as exhausting working hours, lack of protective equipment, and the absence of mandatory occupational health programs. As reported by the MPT/MT, in 2016 the company signed an agreement to pay R$3 million (around US$ 900,000 at that time) in compensation for collective moral damages to settle this and other lawsuits related to working conditions at its facilities in Mato Grosso.
