Argentines are rescued under conditions analogous to slavery

by Andrea
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The 4 worked on the grape harvest in São Marcos, about 160 km from Porto Alegre

The inspection of the (Ministry of Labor and Employment) rescued 4 Argentine workers in a situation analogous to slavery in São Marcos, in the mountainous region of Rio Grande do Sul, about 160 km from Porto Alegre. The rescued are men, aged 19 to 38, and worked in the grape harvest.

The operation, which was attended by the (Public Prosecution Service) and the (Federal Police), was held on Tuesday (28.Jan.2025). The 4 workers came from the province of Missiones and entered Brazil by the municipality of Dionísio Cerqueira (SC). The destination of the grapes harvested by the workers was not disclosed.

They were housed in a very old wooden house, with 2 bedrooms that, according to the workers’ testimony to the work audit, even housed 11 men in all.

Auditors reports confirm that housing conditions were precarious. Access to drinking water was considered one of the most serious problems encountered on site. The same water that supplied the taps (captured from a small reservoir next to the house) was also used in the bath and the discharge of the sanitary facilities, being then returned to the courtyard, next to the dam.

Therefore, an open sewage was formed at the entrance of the property, contaminating the water of the dam that would be used for the consumption of workers. The water, they reported, had yellowish color and fetid odor. “Workers reported suffering from skin allergies and diarrhea”, Reads in MPT.

In addition, workers were forced to sleep on mattresses on the floor without closets or any other furniture to store their belongings. According to the audit verification, the electrical wiring was exposed and in disagreement with the regulatory standards of OSH (occupational safety and health).

The 4 rescued men said they were agreed by a countryman, who sought workers in Argentina and sent them to a service bid in São Marcos.

The promise was paid work, with housing included. However, upon arriving at the scene, workers came across precarious housing and, at the end of a week of work, when they should receive for the services provided, they were abandoned to their own luck. The current whereabouts of the collection is unknown.

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Disclosure/MPT

Workers were housed in a wooden house with 2 bedrooms that, according to the testimonials to the work audit, even housed 11 men in all

Combating slave labor

With this week’s operation, there are already 8 workers rescued in Rio Grande do Sul in 2025. In February 2024, a similar operation of grape harvest inspection found 22 Argentine workers also under conditions analogous to slavery in St. Mark.

Also in the mountainous region of Rio Grande do Sul, in the city of Bento Gonçalves, in 2023, the PRF (Federal Highway Police) rescued in “degrading conditionsAnd analogous to slavery. The company that kept workers under these conditions provided grapes for wineries in the Serra Gaucha region, such as Aurora, Cooperative Garibaldi and Salton, who at the time said they were unaware of the irregularities.

On Wednesday (29.Jan), a TAC (Conduct Adjustment Term) was signed with the rural producer who hired the services of the 4 workers. The objective is to guarantee the payment of labor amounts due for the indirect termination of employment contracts.

Labor auditors have issued unemployment insurance guides to Argentines, who will be entitled to 3 installments of 1 minimum wage. The social assistance of the municipality of São Marcos arranged stay and made available passages for the displacement of workers, who did not wish to return to the country of origin.

The day of the operation, January 28, marks the National Day to Combat Slave Labor. The date was created in honor of the labor auditors of Labor Nélson José da Silva, João Batista Soares Lage and Eutostenes de Almeida Gonçalves, as well as the driver Aílton Pereira de Oliveira, murdered in Unaí (MG), on January 28, 2004, when investigated complaints of slave labor on a local farm.

Complaints about slave -like work can be made to MTE anonymously by Dial 100 or the IPê system and official actions on the actions are available on the work inspection information and statistics panel in Brazil.


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