"Heineken-owned brewery added to Brazil 'slave labor' list", 07 October 2023

...Brazilian brewery Kaiser, which is owned by Heineken, has been added to the government's list of companies responsible for labor conditions analogous to slavery...Kaiser was placed on the list for subcontracting Sider, a trucking company that delivered its beer in the state of Sao Paulo. Sider was charged in 2021 for submitting 23 of its drivers - 22 Venezuelans and one Haitian - to "slavery-like conditions."

In a statement, Heineken said it was not aware of the situation at Sider, which it no longer works with. Heineken also said it created a tool to monitor labor issues involving its subcontractors.

"Regarding the inclusion of Cervejarias Kaiser ... on the list, we are actively working to resolve the issue," Heineken said in a statement.

Reuters was unable to contact Sider.

In a March 2021 inspection, labor inspectors found Sider drivers working illegally long hours of up to 18-hour days with no paid time off. Despite promising lodging to workers, the firm did not provide it to them. Many slept in their trucks instead...The Venezuelan workers were hired through Operacao Acolhida, a federal government initiative resettling migrants arriving in Brazil and connecting them with companies looking for workers...

Businesses on the list cannot bid for federal government contracts or receive state loans. The list is also used by private banks to gauge credit risk and by international buyers concerned about their supply chains...

Heineken sent us the following update:

HEINEKEN’s Brazilian brewery Kaiser has successfully obtained an interim decision to remove its name from the Register of Employers (Cadastro de Empregadores), also known as the "Dirty List" (Lista Suja), an inclusion that was the result of procedural irregularities. Kaiser will work with the relevant authorities to solve this matter definitively.

The full statement is available on our company website here.