Samsung Sued for $108 Million by Brazilian Ministry of Labor

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By Luisa Rollenhagen2013-08-15 00:46:48 UTC

Brazilian prosecutors are in the process of filing a lawsuit for approximately $108 million against the South Korea-based tech company Samsung, citing labor rights violations in one of the company's factories.

According to a report from Reporter Brasil, a watchdog agency focusing on labor rights in Brazil, the country's Ministry of Labor filed a public civil action suit Friday after conducting inspections in 2011 and 2013, listing a variety of poor working condition in the free economic zone of Manaus, in northern Brazil.

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The report lists a variety of poor conditions at the factory, such as workers having to spend 10 to 15 hours on foot without a break, with one employee reportedly even working in those conditions for 27 days in a row.

Furthermore, the report states that the "fast and repetitive activity of the assembly line" has contributed to a host of health issues among workers, such as back problems, tendonitis, and other work-related musculoskeletal disorders (called MSDs).

According to the report, some 2,018 requests by employees to be removed due to health issues have been recorded. The company currently employs 5,600 people at this particular factory, where the majority of Samsung's smartphones supplied to Latin America are assembled.

The Ministry of Labor "projects that about 20% of employees will develop some type of MSDs in the next five years" if conditions don't change, Carlos Juliano Barros, the founder of Reporter Brasil and the author of the report, writes.

Apart from excessively long hours, Barros writes that table height and a lack of chairs for the occasional rest also contribute to the strenuous working environment.

Prosecutors explains that the claim for 250 million reais (around $108 million), which the lawsuit is seeking in damages for the factory's employees, "equates to what the defendant profits around the world, in less than two days."

The free economic zone in Manaus provides businesses with tax incentives, such as an income tax reduction of 75% and an exemption from the tax on industrialized products.

In a statement for Reporter Brasil, Samsung says: "Once we receive notification about this case, we will perform an analysis of the process and will cooperate fully with the Brazilian authorities."

Representatives of the company furthermore add that they are "committed to providing our employees around the world work environment that ensures the highest industry standards regarding safety, health and well-being."

Image: Mashable composite, iStockphoto, Kuzma; Samsung

Topics: Brazil, Labor Rights, samsung, US & World, World