Labor issues in "golden arches" company

Okay to start off I want to say that I am an American (from the U.S) living in Portugal and I have been seeing so many backwords minded laws and actions here that I just had to get it out and tell someone. You, the invisible masses behind my computer screen shall be the ones to see if my words are just rambbling or have some deeper meanings=)

I have been here for over a year and every week I find new things that make me go huh. So, I am not sure how often I will write here but be assured it will be enough to log what I see=)

My fiance, which is Portuguese, got his monthly check today and it was only a fraction of what it should of been. the cause? He was injured at work last month and had to take time off with doctors orders. But there was no pay for this time off, which by Portuguese law there should be 80% of his wage compensated.

Now, he works a very VERY big American owned company here and I know that this would never occur if he was stateside. I wont say any names but lets just say "you're loving it" =) I have worked for this company several times before and they are excellent at making sure their employees are treated fairly. Here in Portugal though they try and screw the employees every chance they get. I will name just a few issues I have seen before this and has lead up to my blogging now:

• 1. They pay basically slave labor wages at only 2.50 euros an hour- which equals to about $3.40 in today's market, even though the cost of living here is exactly the same in the State. That's what I made when I first started working in 1986!
• 2. They refuse to supply a safe work environment. Currently there are metal edges on tables that cut through clothes and skin, there are no slip mats on the tile floors, and the people who work the drive through and have to stand outside are denied the right to wear a jacket, even in winter.
• 3. When the employees no longer fit their clothing or it is too ripped to be presentable, they refuse to give them new ones ans tell them it is their problem because the company doesn't want to take the time to order new clothing for them.

Now, why don't these employees stand up for their rights? Are they scared they will get fired?  I will admit it is a thing to fear with the unemployment being as it is in todays bad economy but here in Portugal they have a law that protects any employee from being fired.... here is what I found about this:

The Strange Labor Law
There's no termination period for the employer.
This doesn't mean that you can tell your employees to go home and the next day their employment contract will have disappeared. This means that you can't fire anybody. An employee can resign with a 1 month resignation period in the 2 first years of employment and 2 months afterwards.
The employer has the following choices:

• offer money and beg the employee to leave (also known as "mutual consent")
• fire the employee for gross misconduct (also known as "for cause" or "good luck proving that")
• fire the employee, pay up to 6 months salary AND risk to be forced to reinstate the employee (also known as "abusive dismissal" or "back to square one")

** found at http://www.thehappyemployee.com/2008/03/better-know-strange-labor-law-portugal.html**

 I think the reason people here have lost their fight ( I say lost because if you don't already know, Portugal used to be one of the biggest world powers at one time) is because the government has put fear into their country by showing repeatedly that they will stand by big business before even considering the peoples rights. In fact, This country is doing such a bad job at business that the Eurpoean Union is trying to step in and take control of their finances!

So, my question is.... shouldn't this U.S. based company that is supposedly so big on assuring they treat their employees fairly step in and make sure that it reaches a high standard in all countries it is located in? Even if the law is not there, they should still stand up for the people working for them and insure a good, safe environment or they are no better than  the bad management that is taking advantage of people in need of work, no matter the risk