Poultry workers at plants in the U.S. are routinely denied bathroom breaks and some have resorted to wearing adult diapers, a report by Oxfam America claims.
The U.S. arm of the global poverty fighting group said its research from 2013 to 2016 found processing plant workers mocked or ignored by supervisors when they asked to go to the bathroom.
The report cited interviews with current and former workers, their lawyers and advocates, medical experts and others. The conditions are particularly tough for women who are menstruating or pregnant, the report said.
The group named Tyson Foods Inc., Perdue Farms Inc., Pilgrim's Pride Corp. and Sanderson Farms Inc. All the companies named in the report, except for Sanderson Farms, denied the allegations in statements to NBC News. A Sanderson Farms' executive said the company had no statement.
The National Chicken Council and the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association said in a statement it believed such instances would be "extremely rare" and the report used too broad a brush on the industry.
