BRAZIL · LABOR
Brazil’s labour prosecutors say they found 1,601 cases with signs of unreported workplace accidents at a pork-slaughter plant in Santa Catarina, a southern Brazilian state. The plant belongs to Cooperativa Central Aurora Alimentos, a meat cooperative, and it signed an emergency safety agreement (a TAC, or conduct-adjustment term) during the inspection, the prosecutors’ office said on Wednesday 11 November 2026.
The Ministério Público do Trabalho em Santa Catarina (MPT-SC), the state arm of Brazil’s labour prosecution service, inspected the plant in São Miguel do Oeste from Monday 19 to Friday 23 October. The agreement covers about 1,100 workers at the unit.
Key Facts
- Who The pig-slaughter plant of the Aurora meat cooperative in São Miguel do Oeste, with about 1,100 workers.
- Finding 1,601 cases with signs of unreported accidents and 158 suspected noise-related hearing-loss cases.
- Deal An emergency agreement reached during the 19 to 23 October inspection; Aurora commits to drop band saws.
- Agreement penalty R$20,000 (US$3,545) a month per clause breached, plus R$1,000 (US$177) per harmed worker.
- Also Aurora refused proposed obligations on medical certificates, and a judge issued an urgent order on 9 November.
What the Inspectors Found
The prosecutors say machines had moving parts left unguarded and conveyors with points where a worker could be caught. Saws were still running without adequate guards even after accidents that had caused amputations.
Emergency stop devices were inadequate, and some safety systems had been bypassed or replaced by improvised fixes, according to the MPT-SC. In the agreement, Aurora committed to stop using band saws in production and to fit guards around the saws that cut pig carcasses, and several corrections were made during the inspection week.
What “Under-Reporting” Means Here
Brazilian employers must file a Comunicação de Acidente de Trabalho (CAT), the compulsory record of a work accident or occupational illness. The prosecutors counted 1,601 cases with signs of under-reporting, including cases logged in public health systems with no matching CAT.
They also flagged 158 cases suggesting noise-induced hearing loss that the company had not examined for a link to work. These are findings of a joint task force led by prosecutors, not a court ruling.
Pregnant Workers and Sick Leave
The agreement orders the immediate reassignment of all pregnant workers to tasks above 10°C (50°F), with noise under 80 decibels and no heavy effort or chemical contact, with pay and benefits kept in full. Inspectors found cases where doctors’ limits on lifting and long standing were not respected.
On the medical certificates, Aurora refused the obligations the prosecutors proposed, the MPT-SC says, so it went to court. Labour judge Alessandro da Silva of the São Miguel do Oeste labour court granted a preliminary urgent order on Monday 9 November, the day the lawsuit was filed, and Aurora must now accept certificates electronically, around the clock, instead of making ill workers come to the plant.
Under the old practice, the prosecutors say, 5,931 certificates were handed in at the plant from 2020 to 2026, about 70 a month, and some workers live up to 64 kilometres (40 miles) away.
Why It Matters
Under the agreement, fines reach R$20,000 a month for each clause breached, plus R$1,000 per harmed worker, capped at R$1.5 million (about US$266,000) per inspection, the MPT-SC says. The money would go to the Fund for the Defence of Diffuse Rights (FDD, a federal fund for collective interests) or another body to be named, and the sums are converted at 5.64 reais per US dollar, the 12 November close.
The deal is a prosecutors’ instrument, so no judge has found Aurora liable for under-reporting. Its test is whether the corrections hold at the next inspection, and the MPT-SC note announces no date.
What Is Not Known
The MPT-SC notes quote no statement from Aurora, and we could not confirm a company response. It also does not say how many of the 1,601 cases will be confirmed as work-related, or what deadline applies to each correction.
The note says nothing about exports or customers, so any effect on supply is unknown. For readers following Brazil’s meat sector, the finding concerns working conditions at one plant.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a TAC in Brazil?
A Termo de Ajuste de Conduta is an agreement in which a company commits to correct violations, with fines if it fails. The MPT-SC signed an emergency one with Aurora.
How many unreported accidents did prosecutors find at Aurora?
They found 1,601 cases with signs of under-reporting at the São Miguel do Oeste plant, during the inspection of 19 to 23 October 2026.
Has Aurora responded?
The MPT-SC notes quote no company statement, and we could not confirm a public response.
Sources: MPT-SC, note on the task force and the emergency agreement, 11 Nov 2026; MPT-SC, note on the court order on medical certificates, 10 Nov 2026. More: Brazil news; Brazil Meat Giant Up 13% Before Third Quarter; Brazil Finds Third Poultry Disease Outbreak.
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