Decent work in tobacco production is the topic of a meeting in Santa Catarina

Canoinhas, in Santa Catarina, hosted the Seminar on Decent Work in Tobacco Production, promoted by the Interstate Tobacco Industry Union (SindiTabaco) and the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MTE). With the support of the Brazilian Tobacco Growers Association (Afubra), the Agriculture and Livestock Federation of the State of Santa Catarina (Faesc) and the Federation of Agricultural Workers of the State of Santa Catarina (Fetaesc), the event began at 9 am, in the Hall of the Santa Cruz Parish of the Cristo Rei Church.

Canoinhas is the second largest tobacco producing municipality in Santa Catarina, behind only its neighbor Itaiópolis. In the last harvest, according to Afubra, Canoinhas produced more than 10 thousand tons, by 2.716 producers. In the country, the municipality ranks 7th among the largest tobacco producing municipalities.

For the vice-mayor of Canoinhas, Marcos Antônio Kucarz, this is a day that will influence the producers’ path. “My first personal achievement was finishing paying off the financing for the tobacco greenhouse, which was possible thanks to the sweat of our labor. And I believe that this is the reality for many families living in our region. We need to continue to evolve and fight for the right to give dignity to our families,” said Kucarz at the opening of the event.

In Santa Catarina, there are almost 190 thousand people involved in rural areas with this activity, in 184 tobacco-producing municipalities. In the last harvest, tobacco generated R$ 3,4 billion for the 40 thousand integrated producers. More than 150 thousand tons were produced, which corresponds to 30% of the total produced in the country.

The president of SindiTabaco, Valmor Thesing, thanked the participants for their presence and highlighted the companies’ commitment to the issue of decent work. “This is an issue that has been addressed by the sector since 1998, but it continues to be relevant. We have already carried out numerous training and awareness-raising initiatives that directly involve aspects of decent work, always focusing on the health and safety of producers. Our goal is to continually improve to comply with current legislation and we know that we have a long way to go. Our responsibility is to always do our best, considering our business and Brazil’s position in the global market. We are protecting people, but also this important business that involves thousands of families in the southern region of the country,” stressed Thesing.

The president of Afubra, Marcílio Drescher, emphasized that producers will follow the path of evolution. “Producers are the main objective of this moment and this joint work between producers, companies, entities and organizations increases the protection of our sector. We have been working together for many years, following the evolution of legislation, and we have always set an example for agribusiness. The same will be true with the decent and legal work of our workers”, Drescher pointed out.

Clemerson Pedrozo, vice president of FAESC, reiterated the organization’s support for the professionalization of producers. “Labor law should be a social peacemaker and not something that generates disagreements. We have set important goals so that all agribusiness chains operate sustainably, within the law, respecting the dignity of workers and the specificity of each sector. It is a social dialogue that involves producers, workers and the Ministry of Labor,” he commented.

The vice-president of Fetaesc, Luiz Sartor, also left his message to the participants. “We need to be aware of the duties that the legislation requires of us. We have a very special mission, together with companies and other entities, which is to raise awareness. This is another step taken so that, over time, we can have everyone, contractors and contractors, a decent job,” he emphasized.

The superintendent of the Ministry of Labor and Employment in SC, Paulo Eccel, opened his speech by reiterating the importance of tobacco for increasing the region's income. "Our goal is to establish, improve and encourage channels of dialogue. Conflicts often arise due to lack of information and ignorance, and this work that is being carried out with the essential participation of our labor inspectors represents this willingness for dialogue," said Eccel.

Raising awareness for 40 thousand producers from Santa Catarina

The program continued with lectures by representatives of inspection agencies of the Ministry of Labor and Employment. They discussed the topics included in the booklets that will be distributed to 40 producers in Santa Catarina. The head of Rural Inspection of the MTE in Brasília, labor inspector Alexandre Furtado Scarpelli, spoke to those present about the Sustainable Work Program.

“We have also held these meetings with other sectors, such as coffee, onions, grapes and cocoa. The idea is to promote sustainable work, with workers and communities developing together with the production chain. Our strategy is social dialogue and we have noticed an increase in the formalization of employment contracts and the improvement of working conditions in general,” he commented.

The head of the planning and evaluation section of the MTE’s regional superintendence in Rio Grande do Sul, Rudy Allan da Silva, reiterated the importance of different actors working together to promote decent work. “The world is turning its attention to compliance in labor relations, decent and dignified work, and production chains. Our role today is to prevent and correct the problem, to adjust our perspective to recognize the problem, sound the alarm, and call for support to clarify and correct it if necessary,” said the tax auditor.

The closing ceremony was attended by the Labor Coordinator of the Brazilian Agriculture and Livestock Confederation, Rodrigo Hugueney, who discussed the forms of hiring in tobacco production.