The Public Ministry of Labor in Rio de Janeiro (MPT-RJ) and the Labor Tax Audit, of the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MTE), reported this Wednesday (18) that they rescued 14 workers in conditions similar to those of slave labor. an equipment loading company that provided services for the production of Rock in Rio 2024.
In the early hours of September 22, a task force of tax auditors and labor attorneys inspected the event facilities and found the 14 employees sleeping in degrading conditions on cardboard, plastic bags and tarpaulins. The victims worked as carriers of the most diverse objects, such as bars, drinks, barricades, gifts and metal structures, working in the assembly and cleaning of some spaces.
According to the MPT, the workers were hired with the promise of receiving daily wages that varied between R$90 and R$150, depending on the number of hours worked. Many of the employees doubled their shifts for days at a time in the expectation of increased earnings, working for 21 hours in one day and returning to work after 3 hours of rest. Despite the promise of remuneration, the amounts were not paid in full, the MPT found.
The action was carried out based on evidence that workers from the company hired by the event organizer were staying overnight at the company’s office inside the festival, at the Olympic Park Tennis Arena, and carrying out consecutive shifts.
Some of the rescued workers reported that they took mug baths in the women’s bathroom and removed the handle from the bathroom door so that men would not enter the place.
The workers said that they remained on site after the end of their shifts in the early hours of the morning to double, that is, to start new shifts in the morning of the same day and after having already worked for more than 12 hours. There are reports of employees who worked for days in a row without going home or with three-hour breaks between shifts, working from 8am to 5am and restarting work at 8am the same morning.
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The team checked the bathroom and found that the place was very dirty, with several clothes hanging and urine on the floor, among other irregularities.
Work similar to slavery was found to be due to degrading accommodation conditions, exhausting working hours and forced labor, says the MPT.
The Labor Tax Audit issued 21 infraction notices punishing the contracted company and 11 infraction notices in relation to the event’s organizer, Rock World SA, which was held directly responsible for work analogous to slavery, due to negligence in monitoring compliance with the labor legislation by the contracted company.
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The inspectorate also issued unemployment insurance guides through which workers can receive three installments of one minimum wage each.
Labor attorney Thiago Gurjão said that after successive hearings, the companies did not want to sign a conduct adjustment agreement (TAC) with the MPT/RJ. He informed that the MPT will adopt appropriate measures to prevent the irregularities found from occurring again, and also to guarantee the necessary compensation for individual moral damages to the victims, in addition to compensation for collective moral damages.
The MPT requested information from the company that issued the “sustainable event” certificate for Rock in Rio, and asked what measures will be taken following the discovery of slave labor in the 2024 edition. The MPT also questioned the companies supporting the event so that inform what measures will be adopted, considering the possible use of slave labor in promoting their brands, including in the assembly of stands, panels and advertising boards.
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According to Labor inspector Raul Capparelli, the rescue of workers is not unprecedented at Rock in Rio. In the 2013 event, 93 workers were rescued from conditions similar to slavery in a fast food company. In the 2015 edition, 17 workers were rescued, also from a company that worked in the food sector.
This year, the company that organizes and produces Rock in Rio was considered directly responsible for the exploitation of labor in conditions similar to slavery, as the workers worked directly in the production of the event as porters.
“We receive many complaints about labor matters, especially in the pre-event, when the structure is being set up. In some editions we have noticed the recurrence of complaints from workers, there is also labor fraud, workers without a formal contract, and contracts involving individuals such as companies or micro-entrepreneurs. The irregularities are repeated. We hardly see progress”, said Isabel Maul, deputy chief prosecutor at MPT-RJ.
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Nota do Rock in Rio
Rock World, the company that organizes Rock in Rio, declared it extremely surprised at the Public Prosecutor’s Office’s disclosure of facts so serious that they were not even tried.
“Such accusations still need to be clarified so that appropriate measures can be taken. Rock World rejects any form of work that does not follow the rules of respect for workers. It also highlights the commitment to instructing all outsourced companies and suppliers to carry out contracting processes within Brazilian legislation. Finally, it informs that it operates in a transparent manner and that members of the Public Ministry of Labor monitored all stages of hiring”, says the note.
The statement informs that over 24 editions, 300,000 direct and indirect jobs were created and thousands of people outside of Cidade do Rock benefited through the social projects that the festival supports, “reaffirming the values of plurality, community, sustainability and its commitment to building a better world for all.”
“In the last edition of Rock in Rio in 2024 alone, more than 32 thousand jobs were created. These contracts were distributed across 160 brand projects and more than 320 supplier projects, all carried out and presented in more than 30 thousand documents presented and analyzed by the competent bodies”, concludes the note.
