The Labor Court of Redemption, in southern Pará, condemned Volkswagen do Brasil to pay R $ 165 million for collective moral damages, after proof of working conditions analogous to slavery in his farm in the municipality of Santana do Araguaia, in the 1970s and 1980s, during the military regime.
The decision, published on Friday (29), complies with a request from the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPT), which filed the public civil action against the automaker.
In addition to the fine, the court determined that Volkswagen publicly recognize its responsibility and ask formal excuses to the affected workers and Brazilian society.
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According to the MPT, this is the greatest condemnation of Brazilian history in cases of slave labor and represents a symbolic milestone in the accountability of large corporations for practices that occurred during the dictatorship period.
According to the investigation, at least 1,000 workers underwent exhausting hours, precarious housing, armed surveillance, lack of drinking water and physical violence. Many were victims of the so -called debt slavery, prevented from leaving the property or maintaining contact with family members.
“We were in a canvas shed, we made our food, we drank water from the stream. With rain, we were only there in the bush, in the service. We could not go out or communicate with our family,” said one of the workers heard by the court.
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The workers, mostly from distant regions, were recruited to overthrow native forest and opening pastures, in one of Volkswagen’s largest farms in the Legal Amazon, Vale do Rio Cristalino Farm.
Documents came from CNBB priest
The case only came to the MPT in 2019, when the agency received documents gathered by a priest of the Pastoral Terra Commission (CPT), at the time CNBB coordinating in the Araguaia and Tocantins region. The records, accumulated over the years, have brought detailed evidence about the degrading conditions faced by the workers.
Between 2022 and 2023, the MPT tried to sign an extrajudicial agreement with Volkswagen in five audiences, unsuccessfully. The automaker withdrew from the negotiations in March 2023, and was sued at the end of 2024.
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What Volkswagen says
In an official note, the company said it also analyzes the decision of the first instance and that it intends to appeal. The automaker said she has 72 years of experience in the country and “defends the principles of human dignity” and strictly fulfills labor laws. “
“Volkswagen reaffirms its unshakable commitment to social responsibility, which is intrinsically linked to its conduct as a legal entity and employer,” he said.
