RIO DE JANEIRO, April 29 (Reuters) – Brazilian labor prosecutors have filed lawsuits against five firms over labor abuses in their supply chains, with grain trader Cargill and meatpacker JBS among those targeted, they said in a statement on Wednesday.
• Prosecutors are asking a court to order JBS to pay around 119 million reais ($23.78 million) in damages in a case in Para state, where workers were found in “slavery-like” conditions in the company’s supply chain.
• Cargill is being sued for 109 million reais for “grave violations of human rights” in its soy supply chain in Rondonia state.
• The lawsuits stem from a 2020 project to track supply chains aimed at fighting human trafficking and serious labor abuses.
• Neither firm immediately responded to a request for comment.
• Prosecutors also signed deals with nine firms that agreed to improve the tracking of labor abuses in their supply chains.
($1 = 5.0048 reais)
(Reporting by Fabio Teixeira; Editing by Kylie Madry)
