Intensified work and absence from work: an analysis in slaughterhouses in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul

Abstract Slaughterhouses are among the ten economic activities that employ the most people in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. However, they also have have the highest rates of absence from work due to accidents or illness. This article aims to analyze the relationship of intensification and leave from work in slaughterhouses in Mato Grosso do Sul. In the light of historical materialism, this research deployed the databases of the Annual List of Social Information and the database of the Ministry of Agriculture regarding animal slaughter in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul and, in a complementary way, resorted to the documentary analysis of labor lawsuits of the Regional Labor Court and procedures of the Public Ministry of Labor. Through data triangulation, it was possible to conclude there is a positive relationship between the intensification of work and absences in the slaughterhouses. This process is materialized in the intensification of labor exploitation between 2007 to 2017. One worker in 2017 produced the equivalent of 1.75 workers in 2007. The results show that the intensification of work has led workers to illness. In 2017, 1387 long-term absences were recorded, with workers were absent from work for 360 days or more, equivalent to 5.3% of employees in the slaughterhouse sector.