After two German firms, Lufthansa and BMW landed up in German courts over the use of temporary workers, now Volkswagen (VW) has joined the club – although, not in Germany but in Brazil. The firm was fined €440,000 over its violation of national labour laws by an employment tribunal in Sao Paulo.

VW employs temporary workers in its Brazilian plant on assembly lines, something which the employment tribunal claims to break various labour legislation, particularly when it comes to health and safety. The court said that the 200 temporary workers who mainly operate on assembly lines are not sufficiently protected. The court also criticised VW of tolerating the underpayment of temporary staff who are said to earn only half as much as permanent employees although they do the same work. 

VW has a contract with a third party, SG Logística, which supplied the temporary workers in São Carlos, and the German car manufacturer has now been ordered to terminate this contract within the next two months.  

"The situation is complicated," said Erick Silva of VW, who is also the head of the metalworkers' union in São Carlos. He also pointed out that situations like this are “typical” in Brazil as “companies do what they want.” 

The Brazilian labour market is alleged to have countless loop holes and many people have long been advocating a liberalisation of the current labour laws that date back to the 1940s.

“Temporary work has not introduced modernity but has led to archaic labour relations which break the basic principles of equality,” one trade union, the CUT, said in a statement. Accidents at the workplace are said to be commonplace in Brazil with over 300 workers having died at the oil firm Petrobras last year alone, the CUT said.