Employment and occupational accidents in the slaughterhouse industry in expansion areas of agribusiness, Mato Grosso, Brasil

Abstract

Historically, workers' health problems have been increasing as the economy grows and the productive processes diversify. In the last three decades, the agribusiness has been expanding in the State of Mato Grosso (central region of Brazil). In this State, the intensification of the activities of the cattle sector meant the installation of the slaughterhouse industry, an increase in formal employment and also in the number of occupational accidents. This study aimed to characterize the occupational accidents in slaughterhouses located in the State of Mato Grosso in the period from 2000 to 2005, in light of the labor market and of manpower insertion. It used occupational accidents indicators provided by the Occupational Accident Reports of the Social Security Ministry, by RAIS (Annual Relation of Social Information), by the Ministry of Labor and Employment, and by PNAD (National Survey through Household Sample), conducted by IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics). The results of the study point to the growth of jobs with expressive rotation, to a decrease in the admission salary (from 2.2 to 2.0 minimum salaries) and to the fact that the majority of workers have low schooling. The slaughtering sector occupied the second position in statistics of work-related diseases and accidents registered in the State. The incidence rate of occupational accidents increased from 41.2 to 46.5 per one thousand workers, with the highest incidence in the age group 18 - 24 years (49.8 accidents/one thousand workers), reaching mainly the employees working in the main steps of the productive process. The results suggest signs of precarious employment and work conditions in the slaughterhouse activities and insufficiency of the State's vigilance/inspection in the sector, as well as low investments from the employers into workers' health and safety.