An operation to combat work analogous to slavery by the Mobile Group of the Ministry of Labor and Employment, carried out jointly with the Public Ministry of Labor and the Federal Highway Police this Tuesday (24) in Inhumas (GO) rescued 53 workers who They worked on cutting sugar cane for a sugar-energy plant in the municipality. The victims were hired by “cats” in Maranhão, Piauí and Bahia who earned R$43.00 monthly for each worker recruited.
The recruited workers did not receive accommodation and were forced to rent housing in the cities where they would work, so that they could present proof of address to the employer and, thus, be treated as residents of the region. This would be a practice to avoid providing housing and food, when in reality they were housed in old, unventilated shacks, in the municipalities of Inhumas, Araçu and Itaberaí/GO.
Precarious conditions – According to what was reported by the inspectorate, there were no beds for the workers in the accommodation and, for some, mattresses were not even available, which forced them to sleep on the floor, covered only by a blanket. Working conditions in the field were also irregular, as there were no sanitary facilities on the sugarcane cutting work fronts, and workers had to do their physiological needs in the middle of the sugarcane fields. Furthermore, they did not have breaks or a minimum meal break and many had damaged personal protective equipment.
After removing the workers from degrading work, the inspection notified the contractors to terminate the employment contracts of all rescued workers and pay severance pay in the total amount of R$950,000. With the company’s refusal to settle the debts, the Public Ministry of Labor (MPT) took legal action against the employers, who will be charged through the Labor Court, with increased amounts for collective and individual moral damage.
The 53 rescued workers were registered to receive 3 installments of unemployment insurance each, worth one minimum wage each installment. The company responsible for hiring has been notified and will be fined for all infractions found by the inspection team, and may have its name included on the List of Employers who subject their employees to conditions similar to slavery, known as the “Dirty List”.
Furthermore, they may be criminally liable for the offense of “Reduction to a condition analogous to slavery”, provided for in art. 149 of the Brazilian Penal Code, whose penalty can reach up to 8 years in prison and a fine.
Complaints – Complaints about work similar to slavery can be made via the website: https://ipe.sit.trabalho.gov.br/
