The establishment of health and safety regulations (NR 36) for meat and poultry processing in 2013 was a major advance for workers’ rights in Brazil. Meat companies are lobbying Brazil’s Government to withdraw or weaken the regulations. Click HERE to send an urgent message to the Government.
- NR 36 came into force following 15 years of national and international campaigning for safer meat and poultry workplaces
- NR 36 was enacted to halt the epidemic of repetitive strain and other injuries by regulating an overhaul of work practices to prevent such injuries; prominent among these measures is the provision for regular breaks
- NR 36 mandates the participation of workers and their representatives in developing and monitoring health and safety in the workplace in line with international standards including ILO Convention 155
IUF Assistant General Secretary James Ritchie stated: “Today, in the midst of a global pandemic, Brazilian authorities, backed by powerful corporate interests, are preparing to withdraw or seriously weaken NR 36. We urge all IUF affiliates to send a message to the Brazilian authorities to ask them not to withdraw or amend the existing regulations.”
