A few years ago, a man from the neighborhood was talking while we were waiting for transport, in a neighboring city.
He told me his story, when he worked in a factory here in the region. He told me that at the time he was desperate for work, tight with bills, wife and children at home, lack of things, etc… he was willing to take anything to have some money.
He was an industrial painter and got work in this factory. In his portfolio he was a painter, but as they were sometimes idle in his sector, in addition to wanting to show service to pass the experience, he agreed to work in various sectors of the company.
One day, he helped to load parts, move parts and the parts were gigantic and heavy. As in these factories, safety is always in the background, they used straps instead of chains to tie the parts to be taken.
As the pieces were made of steel and had corners, the straps would, over time, wear out and one day, when he was walking next to the pieces and with his hand on the piece, it came loose and came down, catching the back of his head. and on his back, opening a tear wherever he went. The guy fell and a pool of blood formed where he was. He told me that he was very lucky not to have been crushed by the piece and, when he was on the ground, he was still conscious and He talked to some people. He told me that when they found out about the accident, the person responsible for human resources came down quickly and took documents for him to sign before being taken to the hospital.
He said the damage was so bad that he could no longer do any heavy lifting and became an invalid.
He returned to work and the company put him on light duty until he won the experience and, when he won, he was mercilessly dismissed.
He told me that the woman from HR who took papers for him to sign, was making fun of his situation while he was working, in the cafeteria in front of the other employees, saying that there was no point in him trying to show his service as he would be fired soon, among other things and offenses.
That day we spoke, he said he sought out lawyers to seek his rights. ACCORDING TO HIM, the papers he signed freed the company from responsibility for his accident.
This is just another case that shows that, for companies, the worker is just another disposable part that, if it presents problems or wears out, is simply exchanged for another.