10 minors who worked in rice fields are among the victims rescued in Uruguaiana
A joint operation between the Federal Police, the Public Labor Ministry, and the Regional Labor Management rescued, on the afternoon of Friday (10.Mar.2023), 56 workers in conditions analogous to slavery on two rice farms in the interior of Uruguaiana, in the Rio Grande do Sul. According to labor inspection data, this is the largest rescue ever recorded in the municipality.
Of those rescued, all men, 10 were teenagers aged 14 to 17 years. They worked manually cutting red rice and applying pesticides, without protective equipment, and even had to walk strenuous days before arriving at the work front.
The operation was carried out on two rural properties in Uruguaiana, after a complaint informed the presence of young people on the property, working without a formal contract. The mobile inspection group went to the location and found not only the teenagers, but also adult workers in a situation analogous to slavery.
The workers were from the region itself, from Itaqui, São Borja, Alegrete and Uruguaiana itself. They manually cut the red rice with completely inappropriate instruments (many used only a serrated domestic knife), in addition to applying pesticides by hand. In one of the properties, poison was applied using the method of “bar“, in which two workers apply the pesticide using a perforated metal bar connected to product cans – a type of activity that requires individual protection equipment.
“Workers often had to walk 50 minutes in full sun to reach the job site. Food and work tools were on account of the employees. Under these conditions, the food was constantly spoiling and the workers would not eat anything all day. If any of them got sick, they would have their remuneration deducted”reported the PF.
The employer was arrested in flagrante delicto for reduction to a condition analogous to slavery (Art. 149 of the Penal Code), taken to the Federal Police and will be forwarded to the Penitentiary System.
According to the PF, the workers were sent back to their homes. They will immediately receive 3 installments of unemployment insurance. Employers will be notified to sign the rescued work card and pay the due severance pay.
The MPT will file a claim for compensation for individual and collective moral damages.
#Operation #rescues #people #slave #labor