The 20th Shift Labor Court sentenced Montevideo Refrescos SRL and Femsa (companies that operate the Coca Cola brand in Uruguay) to pay more than $1,600,000 to an Afro-descendant worker for understanding that his dismissal was “abusive”, as well as for damages. The company appealed the judicial decision and awaits an Appeals Court ruling.
The sentence, to which he agreed The Observerincludes the story of the dismissed worker, who denounced that when the company began to be run by Femsa, in 2019, he was a victim of “workplace harassment, persecution and discrimination“, like some colleagues, all with seasonal contracts. The content of the sentence was disclosed in the first instance by Montevideo Portal.
“In recent years, because of his Afro-descendant status, he has been stigmatized, denigrated, harassed. From being a worker with excellent qualifications in all the harvests, and therefore one of the first in the ranking of the harvest list, In 2019 he became one of the last to be called, going from working 10 months to 3 months in the 2020-2021 harvest”ensures the defense of the complainant in the sentence.
In turn, he affirms that he became one of the last to be called up in the harvest and that his scores and qualifications were changed in order to denigrate him and lead him to leave the company. “As an Afro-descendant He had racial discrimination and mistreatment from his superiors, especially from the Human Resources manager“, says the sentence.
The worker stated that the behaviors caused him “anxiety and sleep disorders,” as well as “depressions.” He also assured that he had to be “evaluated, medicated and certified” by a psychiatrist. He was finally fired on March 3, 2021.
The company’s position
The company, however, has another position and ensures that “none of the situations described” constitute “labour harassment”, but rather “show their disagreement with the company due to the reports and poor qualifications”.
“The worker must prove the facts that constitute unfair dismissal, which are not clear from the lawsuit. In addition, the compensation claimed is not adjusted to the parameters used by doctrine and jurisprudence to quantify the unfair dismissal“, they stated.
In the sentence it was discussed whether the worker was seasonal or permanent, given the number of harvests to which he had been summoned. According to the worker, he worked as a permanent civil servant, since every year, without interruption, he worked for ten months. “What the company calls harvests is not linked to factors such as heat or product consumption, rather, it is a mode of production intended not to pay severance pay and other benefits“, he assures.
The company, however, maintains the opposite and defends the quality of the worker’s harvest, which, according to the regulations, exempts him from the right to be compensated for dismissal.
In addition to the position stated in the sentence, from the company Coca-Cola Femsa Uruguay they assured The Observer that the decision to “disaffected” this person “from the harvest list” responded to a “low evaluation of their performance during the development of their tasks“. “For this reason, the sentence is being appealed in the first instance, and a new ruling of Justice is awaited,” they added.
“The company respects the rights of workers, complies with all current labor regulations and also maintains a strong commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion,” they concluded.
