Approximately 600 employees from two abattoirs in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais had to stop working last week and put on T-shirts bearing the colors and electoral number of President Jair Bolsonaro’s campaign, who is seeking re-election.
Company owners, arriving imminently by helicopter, told their employees that they would receive a leg of pork if they proved they would vote for Mr. Bolsonaro. Anyone who did not support the president, meanwhile, would be threatened with dismissal.
Scenes of the employees wearing the themed clothes spread online. The companies were fined by a labor court and forced to recant, informing employees that their vote is free and everyone can exercise their power of choice as they wish.
The Labor Prosecution Office requested the company pay BRL 2 million (USD 377,000) in collective damages, and compensate each employee with BRL 2,000.
The case represents a growing trend in the lead-up to Brazil’s runoff election. Electoral authorities say complaints of electoral harassment (when employers coerce their employees into voting for someone) have skyrocketed by almost 2,600 percent since the first round on October 2.
Besides violating labor rights, electoral harassment can also be punished by...
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